


Part of Me

by rain_fa3ri3



Category: Supernatural
Genre: A bit of gore, Alternate Universe - Witchcraft, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Asexual Castiel (Supernatural), Asexual Character, Asexual Relationship, Bisexual Dean Winchester, Bisexual Male Character, Blood and Gore, Cain is a jerk, Canon-Typical Violence, Castiel/Dean Winchester Happy Ending, Cat Dean Winchester, Charlie Bradbury & Dean Winchester Friendship, Comfortably Bisexual Dean Winchester, Complete, Dean Winchester Bears the Mark of Cain, Dog Sam Winchester, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Established Castiel/Dean Winchester, Established Dorothy Baum/Charlie Bradbury, Established Eileen Leahy/Sam Winchester, Eventual Happy Ending, F/M, Familiar!Gabriel, Familiar!Garth, Familiar!Sam, Familiars, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Garth Fitzgerald IV is a wolf Familiar and a farmer, Hurt/Comfort, I hate to put you through this but it's my VISION, M/M, Magic, Mark of Cain (Supernatural), Minor Character Death, Openly Bisexual Dean Winchester, Rowena is a witch, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Witch!Eileen, Witch's Familiar Dean Winchester, Witch's Familiar Sam Winchester, Witch/Familiar AU, a big ole bag of dicks, a reeeealy big jerk, aren't I original?, established gabriel/rowena macleod, familiar!dean, familiar!dorothy baum, farmer!Garth, per usual, witch!Charlie Bradbury, witch!castiel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-01
Updated: 2020-07-22
Packaged: 2021-03-01 19:14:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 18
Words: 23,226
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23942185
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rain_fa3ri3/pseuds/rain_fa3ri3
Summary: Castiel Novak had always considered himself among the most powerful Witches, and for good reason: he had led his old coven in battle against demons time and again, and they came out victorious until there was no trace of demon activity for over 200 years. He had done that and much, much more in his 318 years of life, yet he couldn’t counter a simple curse for the past three.
Relationships: Castiel/Dean Winchester, Destiel, Dorothy Baum/Charlie Bradbury, Eileen Leahy/Sam Winchester, Gabriel/Rowena MacLeod, saileen
Comments: 71
Kudos: 97





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I wanted to read this so I wrote it
> 
> artwork by the wonderful @/purgatory-jar on tumblr (thank you again for the commission!)

Castiel Novak had always considered himself among the most powerful Witches, and for good reason: he had led his old coven in battle against demons time and again, and they came out victorious until there was no trace of demon activity for over 200 years. He had _done that_ and much, much more in his 318 years of life, yet he couldn’t counter a simple curse for the past three. 

**The backstory:** Being asexual, Castiel hadn’t really thought much about a relationship for the majority of his long life until about twenty years ago. You see, twenty years ago, Castiel met and fallen in love with a Familiar named Dean Winchester. And that changed _everything_. They met at a bar for Magics (in Kansas of all places). They had a few drinks and began talking about more and more personal things. Then Dean had asked Castiel on a date. And Castiel said yes. 

The rest sort of fell into place after that. They eventually moved in together, and a few years later had a small pagan wedding in their backyard. Dean’s brother, Sam, and his Witch, Eileen, attended, as did a few of Dean and Castiel’s mutual friends. Gods, it was beautiful. Castiel had never before been so grateful for modern photographic technology to help him remember every detail. 

And, more recently, to help him remember every detail of Dean’s human face.

 **The Curse:** Three years ago today, one of the few demons Castiel’s coven had failed to eradicate came out of hiding and sought revenge. He came for Castiel, came to get him where it hurts: Dean. Luckily, Castiel hadn’t been far away, just down the road getting ingredients for a potion at the market, and felt the wards around their house being breached. He dropped everything and teleported there just in time to distract the demon so his curse on Dean wasn’t complete. 

Dean had been lounging on the sofa in his tabby form when the Demon entered and caught him off guard; Dean knew some magic, and could have defended himself if he’d had time. 

But he didn’t. 

The demon entered, Castiel appeared, the demon struck, and Castiel immediately killed him with a spell which left Cas sapped of energy. He’d slumped for a moment and Dean tried to shift and go to him, but realized he was unable to. He began to panic, and Castiel rushed to his aid. 

Castiel worked to calm Dean, who was hyperventilating. Castiel stroked him from head to tail in the soothing way he knew Dean liked. He also used the physical contact to search for what was wrong. His powers were weakened from the intense spell he’d cast, but he could nonetheless sense something very wrong inside of Dean, something that was keeping him trapped in this form. Castiel talked to Dean, reassured him he would fix this, that he would be able to transform again. He picked Dean up and cradled him to his chest as he sat down in the chair to study the curse more. He was exhausted, but nothing would keep him from trying. 

And he still tries, **Three Years Later:**

Castiel wakes to find Dean perched on his chest, his purrs rumbling through Castiel’s sternum. Castiel smiles sleepily and scratches between Dean’s ears. Dean opens his bright green eyes slowly, blinks a few times, then stretches and lets out a long yawn.

 _Mornin’, Sunshine._ Dean’s deep voice enters Castiel’s mind as Dean continues purring and pushes his face into Castiel’s, demanding more scratches. Castiel obliges.

Castiel had figured out fairly quickly after the curse how to communicate with Dean. He’d found a spell in a hundred-year-old book on Familiars that allows a Familiar to transmit thoughts from their mind to that of their Bonded Witch. It was supposed to be a temporary solution to a temporary problem, but has turned into their normal mode of communication. 

Dean stretches again and meows at Castiel to get his attention.

 _Whatchya thinkin’, Cas?_

Castiel hadn’t known a cat could display so many emotions of their face until he met Dean, as he certainly does now: head tilted, eyes wide, brow furrowed. Castiel buys time by scratching under Dean’s chin. Dean starts purring again, but soon swats away Castiel’s hand with his paw. 

_Don’t distract me. I mean it, man. What’s buggin’ you?_

“It’s...nothing, Dean.” No, it’s everything. Three years. Three years, and he’s failed to heal his love. “Just a nightmare again,” he says without meeting Dean’s eyes. That was partly true; he had endured yet another nightmare, something he’s been working on a potion to help, but most of his daily energy is spent looking for a cure for Dean.

Dean moves forward and licks the tip of Castiel’s nose - his way of kissing him. _You’ll have that potion done soon, right? Your nightmares always get worse this time of year._

“Yes, I should.” So, Dean remembers what today is. Of course he would: he’s affected monumentally more than Castiel, yet seems less burdened - or is really good at hiding it. Castiel looks over at the wardrobe to the right that he knows holds all of Dean’s clothing. He will find a way. He will cure him. He has to.

...But what if he can’t? What if Dean is stuck like this for the rest of his life? All because Castiel failed on a mission? He’d set out to rid the world of demons, and he’d thought he’d done it. He was so sure of himself, of his prowess as the youngest Witch to lead a coven, the youngest Witch to prove himself as the most powerful Magic of the century; he’d been too cocky, made a mistake, and now Dean was forced to deal with the consequences.

Witches and Familiars are born from other Magics, but while Witches have a lifespan of at least 500 years, Familiars only live around 150 - until they Bond at least: then they live until their Witch dies, and age more slowly. Dean and Castiel Bonded when they married. It doesn’t have to be a marriage, though; not all Witch-Familiar relationships are romantic, though it _is_ more common, and theirs most certainly is. So, Dean would potentially be stuck in this form for hundreds of years more. If Castiel couldn’t fix this he-

Castiel’s train of thought is cut off by a feline screech and his face is pelted by a mass of brown fur. “Dean!” Castiel moves to pull Dean off, but Dean wraps his limbs around Cas’s head and neck and digs in his claws.

_No brooding on my watch!_

“Dean,” Castiel sighs, exasperated but amused as he tries to unlatch his husband from his head. Just as he gets one paw unstuck, another set of claws dig into his skin.

_You’re only making this harder for yourself, Cas._

Castiel can’t help but grin at the smirk in Dean’s voice. He closes his eyes and pictures that on Dean’s human face, pictures Dean’s perfect lips, his freckles and stubble and long, long eyelashes…

His ear is in Dean’s mouth. Dean put Castiel’s ear in his fucking mouth. “That’s it.” Castiel grabs Dean firmly in both hands and mutters a quick spell that tickles Dean. Dean spasms and Castiel raises him above his head as he himself lays flat on the bed.

Dean meows and writhes, laughing in his mind. _I-SAID-NO-FUCKING-BROODING! MAGIC’S-NO-FAIR!_

Castiel doesn’t stop the laugh that escapes him. “Do you promise to stop attacking my head?”

_Yeah, yeah! Whatever! Just MAKE IT STOP!_

Castiel waits a moment longer, savoring Dean’s laughter, before saying the counter curse. As soon as the words leave his lips, Dean sighs in relief and hangs limp in Castiel’s hands. 

_Holy Bast, Cas. That wasn’t fair and you know it._ He sounds irritated, but his tail flicks and there’s a glint in his eyes that lets Castiel know he’s joking. 

“I do believe you initiated this, Dean. Besides, you put my ear in your mouth.” Castiel smirks as Dean rolls his eyes.

 _Come on, Cas. Some people like that. It’s a kinky thing._ Boy, can cats grin. 

Castiel rolls his eyes and lowers his arms so Dean can sit on his chest. They lock eyes for a few moments and Dean sticks out his tongue. Castiel finally smiles.

 _Alright! I did it!_ Dean purrs again and pushes his face into Castiel’s affectionately.

“You did. You always do.” Castiel pulls Dean to him and wraps him in a hug, letting Dean’s purrs calm him. He knows it isn’t _that_ terrible for Dean to be in this form. Before the curse he needed to transform half the time anyway, as is the nature of a Familiar; they need to be in animal form at least half the time in order to feel their best and balance their magic. Dean has told Castiel on several occasions that he doesn’t really mind this, that it’s annoying sometimes to not have opposable thumbs at will, and he does miss being able to properly be with Castiel - and being taller than him - but it isn’t nearly as bad as Castiel thinks. 

Yes, Castiel wants to lift the curse mainly for selfish reasons. He wants to feel Dean’s arms around him, wants to kiss his lips, wants to run his hands through Dean’s human hair, wants to hear his voice other than in his mind. He knows Dean wants that too, but yes, this is mostly for himself. To set things right; to atone for his mistakes; to prove that he can. And he hates admitting that, even to himself. 

So, he focuses instead on Dean as he is, tail happily flicking back and forth as he snuggles under Castiel’s chin, rubbing his face against Castiel’s unshaven stubble. Castiel holds Dean a bit tighter, stroking his back with one hand. “I love you, Dean. More than anything.”

Dean snuggles up closer to Castiel, a small chirp escaping with his purr. Castiel smiles as Dean twists so he can see Castiel’s face and places his right paw on Castiel’s cheek. _I love you too, Cas, more than anything. But you know what I would love almost as much?_ Castiel tilts his head and squints, but can hear the smirk in Dean’s voice as he continues. _If you made me breakfast._

Castiel sighs and roles his eyes as Dean laughs. Then he grabs Dean, rolls over onto his elbows, pins him down, and tickles him. 

_Hey! Not fair!_

Castiel just grins. “No magic this time. Therefore, by your earlier sentiment, this is, indeed, fair.”

 _Fuck you and your logic!_ Dean says, then writhes and bites Castiel’s left wrist.

Castiel inhales sharply at the puncture and pulls his hands back just long enough for Dean to escape and dart to the end of the bed, tail puffed up, pupils dilated, and head low.

“Artemis and Asclepius!” Castiel shakes out his wrist and shifts so he can grab for Dean who meows loudly. Dean leaps from the end of the bed and runs out the open bedroom door, claws skidding on the hardwood floor. Castiel smiles, watching Dean’s bushy, striped tail disappear around the doorframe. As he flicks his wrist to heal the small punctures, he pushes up from the bed to chase after Dean. 

Castiel goes down the hall, checking in the bathroom and guest bedroom - they always keep the doors cracked for Dean to have easy access. Castiel checks in Dean’s usual hiding places, as today’s antics are a regular occurrence: the laundry hamper in the bathroom, under the dresser in the guest bedroom, and in the nest that Castiel made into a part of the catwalk he’d installed after Dean moved in. 

“Dean,” Castiel calls, “I propose a truce.” He creeps towards the couch in the living room and lifts up a suspicious pillow, but there’s only Dean’s stash of catnip mice under it. Castiel hums to himself and replaces the pillow, scanning the rest of the room with his eyes. He just barely detects a shift of the curtain covering the Eastern window. Castiel grins, then heads for the kitchen. “Well, if you don’t come out, you’ll miss breakfast.”

_I dunno, Cas, sounds like a ploy. I don’t trust it._

Castiel cuts his eyes over to the curtain, then back to the cabinet in front of him. He opens the dark oak door, grabs a tub of oats, and shakes it so the grains shuffle. 

_Dude! Not fair!_

“Hmm…” Castiel goes about preparing the oatmeal, filling a pot with water and setting it to boil. He adds the oats then begins cutting up apples and bananas. As he finishes chopping, Castiel notes a soft _plat_ sound that he recognizes well. He smiles to himself as he turns off the burner and adds a bit of honey and milk to the oats, then stirs in the fruit. 

Just as Castiel finishes pouring the second bowl of oatmeal, there’s a small _huff_ behind him and four sets of claws dig into his lower back. Castiel sucks in a breath at the sharp pricks as Dean climbs to perch on Castiel’s right shoulder. Castiel nuzzles his head against his husband. “Hello, Dean. I suppose you decided to trust me again?”

 _No, my hunger won, not you._ He licks Castiel’s cheek. _Though, you’re smilin’ again, which means_ I _win on a technicality._

Castiel rolls his eyes. “Fine.” He places the pot in the sink, picks up the bowls and a spoon, then walks them both to the kitchen table. “For today.” Castiel sets the bowls and spoon down and has a seat as Dean jumps off his shoulder and lands gracefully on the table. Castiel pushes the bowl on the right towards Dean and kisses him on the forehead. “I made your favorite.”

 _Thanks, Angel,_ Dean says as he sticks his head in the bowl and begins lapping up the oats. Castiel sets his chin in his hand and stirs his oatmeal, watching Dean. He notes how Dean retains the same body language - somehow - in either form he takes, walking with the same bow-legged strut, carrying himself proudly, moving so fluidly (something Castiel suspects is derived from his feline form). And his love for food has never wavered. 

Dean’s fur is thick and long, making him seem bigger than he is, but over the past years he _has_ grown a bit of pudge, something Castiel absolutely adores. Dean was embarrassed about it at first, but got over it quickly when he realized Castiel thought it was cute. 

As if on cue, Dean looks up at castiel, oatmeal stuck to his whiskers. Castiel snickers and Dean meows loudly back at him. 

_The fuck you laughin’ at?_

“You.”

Dean sticks out his tongue again and continues eating. Castiel figures the gesture was, in this instance at least, a replacement for his middle finger.

They both finish their oatmeal, and Castiel magics the bowls into the sink for later as he stands and pushes in his chair. He bends backwards to pop his back then rolls his neck. “I’m gonna head to the workshop, do you want me to put on a movie, or-”

A meow interrupts him, and Castiel tilts his head. 

_Come on, Cas, you’re always workin’, even on weekends. Can’t ya take a break today?_

Castiel looks into Dean’s eyes and can see a hint of sadness, could even hear a bit of pleading in his voice. Then he feels a pulse in their Bond as Dean sends a wash of affection towards Castiel. Castiel reaches back on his end, and can feel the sadness lurking under Dean’s barriers. Perhaps today is affecting him more than he let on, afterall.

“Of course, Dean.” Castiel reaches towards his husband and Dean moves forward so Castiel can pick him up. Dean purrs as Castiel wraps him in his arms, and Castiel hums happily when Dean nuzzles his head into Castiel’s neck.

 _Thanks, man. I-_ Dean stops purring and grows still. Castiel tenses in response and pauses mid-way through stroking Dean down his spine. _Hey, no, Cas, it’s okay,_ Dean twists so he can look Castiel in the eyes. _I...I just need to let you know, well...it does bother me some. The curse, ya know? Just...I don’t feel...I mean..._ He looks down, not meeting Castiel’s concerned squint. _Do I make you happy, Castiel? Like this?_

Castiel’s eyes widen; his mouth opens, but no words come out. He sees Dean glance up at him then shoot his gaze back down. “Dean, why-”

 _I don’t know, man, it’s stupid,_ Dean shrugs, but still doesn’t look up. _You’ve been looking for a cure since the day I was cursed, and, like, I really appreciate it and all, but it’s been three fuckin’ years, and zip. But that’s not my point…_ Dean shifts again and flicks his tail anxiously. _It just feels like...and I know this is stupid, but I can’t get it out of my head - but it feels like you can’t be happy unless I’m human. Like, I dunno, it’s like I can’t make you happy when I’m stuck like this ‘cuz we can’t do_ everything _the same, and Cas, man, I want that too, I really do, I wanna hold you and kiss you and go out in public and not have people think I’m your pet. I get it. But…this is part of who I am, it always has been, and...it feels like...you don’t really accept that part of me. Like I’m not enough - and this may be all I can give for forever, and it just scares the hell out of me that I can’t give you everything you want, and that I’m not_ enough, _and-_

Dean cut’s off as Castiel sinks to the floor and sets him on the ground. Castiel puts his head in his hands, the cool metal of his wedding ring pressing against his forehead. How could he cause Dean all this grief? How could he make him feel so badly about himself? How could he not see how much he was hurting his love? 

“Dean, I-” Castiel moves his hands to grip his hair, keeping his eyes closed because he can’t bear to look at Dean. “I am so truly, deeply sorry. And I know words can only do so much, and I can’t- I can’t believe how stupid I’ve been. I-” He digs his nails into his head, can feel sparks of magic pulsing from his hands. He knows he shouldn’t lose control like this, that he needs to contain his magic, but he just feels so _guilty._ “I love you, Dean. I love you for _you_ , not what form you are, and I need you, and I want you, and I can’t imagine my life without you.” He chokes out the words through his tears, fast and messy and raw. “Of _course_ you’re enough! I can’t believe how selfish I’ve been to make you believe you aren’t worth more than a vessel...Dean, do you feel it?” 

Castiel can feel his magic filling the room, can feel it pulsing with his emotions. And he knows his walls on their Bond are down and that Dean can feel everything he feels, and knows it can be overwhelming, and knows he should stop it, but he just _can’t_. Castiel sits there shaking, trying desperately to hold in his tears at least, and it’s so quiet and tense in the room he would think Dean left, but he can feel his presence through the Bond. 

_I do, Angel, I do._ After what feels like an eternity, Dean’s voice breaks through the blaring self-hatred in Castiel’s mind. _And it’s not your fault, Cas. The curse is_ not _your fault._ Dean worms his way onto Castiel’s lap and up to where he can push his face into Castiel’s, just like earlier that morning. _Do ya hear me?_

“Yes.” Castiel somehow manages to get the word out through the lump in his throat.

 _But if you want forgiveness? You got it, Buddy. I see how much you love me. I see._ He pauses a beat. _I_ really _see, Cas. Open your eyes._

Castiel wipes his eyes on his sleeve then obliges - and sees the room is filled with flowers growing from every surface, shimmering with sparks of magic. “Oh…” Castiel looks around and sees that they aren’t just any flowers; they are matched to his emotions: bluebells for humility; purple hyacinths for sorrow and pleading for forgiveness; white tendrils of ivy for anxiousness to please; peonies for shame; pink roses for ‘please believe me’; lavender for devotion; and arbutus, aster, red chrysanthemums, forget-me-nots, jonquil, and so many red roses for ‘I love you’. 

Castiel clears his throat and wipes his nose on his sleeve, then gives Dean a hesitant half-smile. Dean chirps in response and rubs against Castiel’s chest, over his heart. _You should give up control more often, man; this is beautiful._

Castiel hufs. “It might not have been. I could’ve blown out all the lights and windows, or turned off gravity, or, I don’t know, something equally horrific.”

_You’re no fun._

“ _You_ are.”

_Sap._

“Callous.”

_Prude._

“Reckless.”

 _Yeah, and you love it._ Dean grins up at Castiel.

“I do, indeed.” Castiel maneuvers so he can hold both of Dean’s front paws in his hands. “I love you, Dean, so very, very much. I was being selfish, and didn’t stop to consider how that affected you. Yes, I miss how things used to be, but that doesn’t mean I love you any less.” He bows his head so their foreheads touch and closes his eyes. “If anything, I treasure you even _more_ since that day...I could have lost you, Dean, had I been any slower. And… and I couldn’t have handled that.” Castiel shivvers involuntarily, remembering his panic when he felt the wards breached three years ago.

Dean licks Castiel’s nose, using their Bond to send comfort Castiel’s way. 

“Thank you.” Castiel opens his eyes and looks into Dean’s, such a deep green filled with flecks of gold; his pupils are wide. Castiel looks down, then back into Dean’s eyes. “Dean, I need you to believe me. You were, will be, and _are_ enough - _more_ than ‘enough’ - better than I’d ever thought I’d have. I don’t care if we never fix the curse; you’re still you. I’ve been...blind. I let my guilt drive me, let it make me miss out on what we _do_ have. I love _you_ , Dean, and you make me so, so happy.”

_Thanks, Cas. You’re pretty alright yourself._

Castiel moves backwards and blinks at Dean, tilting his head slightly.

Dean stares back for a few seconds before flopping over to his side and laughing. _I’m jokin’, Cas._ He crawls back into Castiel’s lap and nudges his hand. _Ya know I’m not great at the sappy stuff, but that means a lot, Angel. Thank you._

Castiel rolls his eyes and grabs Dean, cradling him upside down in his arms and scratching his belly. Dean grumbles about how he’s ‘not a baby, Cas; damnit,’ but purrs nonetheless.

And, just like that, they’re back to normal - or, as ‘normal’ as they can be.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An unexpected visit, a revelation, and some fluff.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry this took so long!! I promise I am not abandoning this, it is one of my favorite things that I've (partially) written. Enjoy!

**The visit:** They are lounging on the couch that afternoon, Dean napping on Castiel’s chest while Castiel reads a spell book hovering in front of him, every so often turning a page with the flick of a finger - when Castiel feels a breach in his wards. He jolts upright, sending Dean tumbling onto his lap where the book promptly falls and hits him on the head.

_ Ouch- shit! What the fuck, Cas? _

Castiel grabs Dean into his arms without answering and stands, tense and at the ready in a matter of seconds. It takes a few moments before he realizes that the breach was friendly, and that there isn’t a threat - longer, in fact, than it takes their guests to reach the porch and ring their doorbell.

_ Hey, Cas - Castiel - it’s okay. _ Dean nudges Castiel’s shoulder with his head reassuringly from where he is held securely in Castiel’s left arm, and it’s only then that Castiel realizes he’d conjured a fireball in his right hand without knowing.

Castiel flicks his wrist and the fire disappears in a puff of smoke. He lets out a breath he didn’t know he was holding, and looks at Dean. “I’m a little tense still.”

_ Just a little. _ Dean meows at Castiel and nudges him again.  _ C’mon, let’s go see who it is. _

Castiel runs a hand through his hair and walks across the living room to the door, refusing to let go of Dean. He opens the door cautiously, then smiles and throws it open when he sees Sam and Eileen on the other side. 

Eileen grins and signs ‘Surprise!’ as Sam reaches over to Dean and rubs his head in a noogie-like manner. Dean hisses playfully and struggles out of Castiel’s arms, leaping up onto Sam’s shoulder and attacking his head much like he had done to Castiel earlier that morning.

“Hey! Fuck off, Jerk!” Sam struggles for a few moments before sighing. “Fuck it.” There’s a glow of bright light, and suddenly Dean’s struggling to stay atop the head of a giant, shaggy Irish Wolfhound. Castiel and Eileen laugh when Sam shakes his head, sending Dean flying for a moment before he lands on his feet and leaps at Sam again. Sam barks and runs into the house, Dean meowing loudly close behind him. Castiel knows Dean is cursing at Sam by the way his tail stands puffed up in the air. They’re blood relatives and can therefore communicate through a Bond much like that which Dean shares with Castiel. 

Castiel shakes his head. He turns to Eileen and signs ‘Let’s go in before they break something.’

Eileen laughs and signs back ‘Yeah, or some _ one _ .’ 

They go into the house and Castiel closes the door behind Eileen, gesturing for her to make herself comfortable. He hangs back at the door and mutters a few spells under his breath to strengthen his already laboriously crafted wards. Castiel jumps when he feels a hand on his shoulder, and turns to see Eileen looking at him with a soft, knowing smile. ‘You haven’t stopped trying, have you?’ she asks.

Castiel shakes his head. He looks around to make sure Dean can’t see him, then turns back to Eileen. ‘Never. I’ve researched since the day it happened. Dean…” Castiel pauses after signing Dean’s name sign, an altered sign for the word ‘green’ (with a ‘D’ instead of ‘G’) followed by the sign for ‘cat’. He signs ‘cat’ again, then signs ‘hold on’ to Eileen. 

He signs ‘cat’ a few more times, absently, staring at nothing in particular. He’s signed Dean’s name dozens of times when talking with Eileen. He’s  _ seen _ it signed countless times, too. So why does it trigger something now? He  _ knows _ it means something...maybe something  _ important _ ...then it hits him. Castiel turns back to Eileen and signs ‘Come on.’ He walks briskly through the house and out the backdoor, leading Eileen to his workshop. It’s just a shed, one that Castiel built by hand and reinforced with magic when he moved in 40 years ago. When they reach it, he places his palm on the door and feels the wards melting beneath his touch. They go in.

Castiel waves his hand to close and lock the door after Eileen enters, rushing over to his bookshelf. He searches frantically, pulling dusty tomes off the shelf and leafing through them before tossing them onto his work bench and starting again. This goes on for several minutes before Eileen taps Castiel on the shoulder. He hesitates before turning around, and when he faces her she is smiling softly. ‘Magic.’

Castiel tilts his head in confusion. 

Eileen laughs. ‘Magic,’ she signs again. ‘Find it with magic.’

Castiel huffs out a laugh at his own expense, then turns back to the bookcase, palms facing the shelves. He mutters a spell, and immediately after a tiny leather-bound book worms its way out from under the volumes stacked on the top shelf. The book flies down and lands in Castiel’s open palm, leaving room to spare.

‘Okay, Castiel, what’s all this about?’ Eileen asks. 

Castiel tucks the book under his arm and replies, ‘You know how there’s Verbal, Thought, and Physical magic?’

Eileen nods. 

‘And usually they’re used separately.’

‘Yeah…’ Eileen nods again.

‘Do you know  _ why _ ?’

Eileen thinks for a moment before slowly shaking her head. ‘Where are you going with this?’

‘I’ll get there with you.’ Castiel pulls out the book and flips through before he finds the page he’s looking for and hands it to Eileen. 

She reads the page quickly and hands it back to Castiel, shaking her head. ‘I still don’t understand.’

Castiel runs a hand through his hair and takes a breath. ‘I’m not making any sense, I’m sorry. Just- here; here in the book it says mixing different forms of Magic is what some older demons used to enhance their power.  _ That’s  _ why it’s forbidden. And  _ that’s _ why I couldn’t figure out the spell before!’ Castiel’s eyes are wide, his breaths coming quickly. 

Eileen begins signing frantically. ‘That’s why you were signing  _ cat _ ? The demon signed it?’

“Yes!” Castiel says aloud as he signs. ‘I hadn’t focused on it at the time, just killing him before he could hurt Dean. But he’d been incanting  _ and _ moving his hands - signing! Using Double, maybe even Triple magic! If we look at it that way, and combine the spell he  _ said _ with the one he  _ signed _ -’

‘Then we can figure out a counter curse!’ Eileen finishes. ‘This is great! We should tell Dean-’

Castiel holds up a hand. ‘I don’t want to say anything until I have an actual spell prepared. I...I don’t want to get his hopes up for nothing.’ Castiel recalls their earlier discussion. Taking into account Dean’s near-acceptance of his fate, Castiel doesn’t want to mention any of this unless it is a surefire cure.

Eileen nods. ‘I understand, Castiel. I’ll help you.’

Castiel thanks her and turns to put the book away when Dean’s voice floats into his mind.

_ Hey, where are you, Angel? You gotta see this! _

Castiel smiles involuntarily at the sound of Dean’s voice. He puts the book away, then turns back to Eileen. ‘Dean’s calling. There’s something I ‘have to see.’’

Eileen covers her mouth as she snorts. ‘I think I know what it is.’

Castiel raises his eyebrows. ‘Can you tell me?’

She shakes her head. ‘Sam would kill me if I ruin his surprise.’ She walks towards the door and waves to Castiel, a mischievous grin on her face. Castiel follows, sighing preemptively, his curiosity secretly piqued.

Back inside the house, Castiel hears Sam laughing in the living room, so they head that way. 

“Dean?” Castiel calls. “Should I be worried about this ‘surprise’?”

_ You’ll just have to see, Cas. _

Castiel rolls his eyes. “Winchesters…” he mutters. He and Eileen arrive at the living room a moment later and see Sam standing in front of the couch. Dean is nowhere to be found. “What’s going on, Sam?”

Sam clears his throat and winks at Eileen before addressing Castiel. “Well, you see, Cas, I had this idea-”

“That’s always a good thing.”

“-that you two could use some special time together. When’s the last time you went on a date, right?” Sam raises his hands in question, then lets them fall as he continues. “So we took-”

This time Eileen interrupts him, waving both her hands for him to stop.

“Alright, alright,  _ I _ took matters into my own hands. I know what my brother needs, even if he won’t admit it himself. So, Castiel. I present to you your date for this evening: Mr. Dean Winchester-Novak.” 

Sam steps aside, and sitting on the couch is Dean, wearing a miniature tuxedo with a green plaid bowtie. And, of course, a shit-eating grin.

“Oh, Dean…” Castiel says, torn between laughing, crying, or just hugging Sam. It’s just too damn adorable. 

_ What, Cas? What were you gonna say? _ He sounds slightly offended, so Castiel rushes across the room and kisses his nose.

“You look very handsome, Dean,” Castiel says. “As always.”

Dean straightens his back and swishes his tail, posing with his head held high.  _ Damn right I do.  _ Then he says to Sam (though Castiel can still hear),  _ You did good, Sammy _ . 

“I know I did,” Sam smirks.

Eileen signs something to Sam and he nods and says, “Oh, yeah, so, there’s a part two to all this.”

“Go on,” Castiel says, moving to sit beside Dean on the couch.

“We got you guys a reservation at a new Magic’s only restaurant. Told ‘em who you were, and they said they’d give you an all-you-can-eat dinner for free. Guess they like what you did to those demons, Cas.”

Castiel blinks. “I didn’t know anyone still knew who I was. I haven’t been in a coven for...over 150 years now.”

Sam shrugs. “You had a lasting impact.”

_ C’mon, Cas, it’s free food! Just enjoy something for once. _

Castiel frowns. “I enjoy things.”

_ Yeah, but you always  _ brood _ first. _ Dean says, rolling his eyes.

“I do  _ not _ .”

_ Exhibit A: this morning. _

_ “ _ That’s different,” Castiel insists.

_ Is it? _

Sam clears his throat. “We’ll, uh, let you two have your lovers quarrel in private. Mind if we check out the garden?”

_ Get out of here, Bitch. _

“See ya, Jerk,” Sam says over his shoulder as he and Eileen head for the back door. 

Once they’re gone, Dean turns back to Castiel.  _ I’m sorry, Cas. You look upset. _

Castiel looks down. “No, It’s okay. And your right- about the brooding. I tend to overthink things. A lot.” He smiles, looking back into Dean’s eyes. “You help with that.”

Dean chirrups and rubs his head against Castiel’s hand.

Castiel looks at his husband sitting in front of him in a cat-sized tuxedo and wonders how he ever could have felt the way he did this morning. “C’mere,” he grumbles, grabbing Dean and burying his face into his fur. Dean immediately starts purring, and Castiel lays back into the pillows, curling his knees up to totally encase Dean. They snuggle into each other, sitting in silence for a few minutes before Castiel mumbles into Dean’s soft belly, “We’re getting you more cat-clothes.”

_Fine by me, Sunshine._ _You seem to like ‘em._

“Mmmm.”

_ So… _ Dean says after a pause,  _ When’d Sammy say dinner was again? _

Castiel just laughs.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A fluffy date night ensues.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What's this?? Weeks of nothing then 2 chapters in one day?? I am sorry, but I probably won't change.

**The date:** An hour later, after Eileen forced Castiel to wear something nicer than his usual cotton shirt and jeans, Castiel stands before Dean wearing slacks, a white button-down, a blue tie, and a trenchcoat. His usually messy hair is tamed, but he insisted on keeping his beard (for Dean, of course).

Dean’s pupils are dilated as big as they can go as Castiel stands before him.  _ Holy shit, Cas. You clean up nice, _ Dean says as he jumps down from the couch and winds around Castiel’s ankles.  _ You didn’t dress this well for our wedding! _

Castiel sighs, bending over to pick him up, then straightens and holds Dean so he can look him in the eye. “You told me you didn’t care what I wore as long as I showed up. And I did. You’re welcome.” 

_ You have my everlasting gratitude. _ Dean pushes his face into Castiel’s, rubbing against his beard.  _ You really do look great, though, Angel. _

“As do you, Dean. Are you ready?” Castiel knows this will be a good thing, good for both of them. They haven’t really gone out much for the past couple years, mainly due to Castiel’s paranoia. Dean doesn’t complain, but Castiel knows he hates being confined to their house and yard. He knows Dean misses driving his Impala, and misses doing things in public with people. 

Yes, Castiel knows this will be a good thing, but he can’t shake the itch of anxiety worming its way up his spine at the thought of taking Dean out of the house - out of the protection of the layers and layers of wards. 

_ Yeah, I’m starvin’. _

Castiel jumps at the sound of Dean’s voice, and Dean looks like he is about to say something when Sam interrupts. “You guys go, have fun; we’re going on our own date - meet back here after?”

Castiel nods, fakes a smile.

‘Have fun!’ Eileen signs.

Castiel signs ‘thank you,’ then looks back to Dean, holds him tight, and teleports.

**

_ Wow, _ Dean and Castiel say in unison. They stand in front of a modern looking building made of cream brick with black and silver accents. A pair of double doors twice the height of Castiel, made of solid glass with no handles, stand directly in front of them, and behind those Castiel can see a giant crystal chandelier lighting an entryway. 

_ May as well go in - and you can put me down now, Cas. _

Castiel hesitates, but eventually forces himself to let go of Dean. Dean jumps down and shakes before trotting ahead to the doors. 

_ C’mon!  _

Castiel looks around before following Dean through the doors - which magically open for them. Castiel watches Dean admiring the surroundings while simultaneously reaching out with his magic to scan the building for any threats. He feels dozens of other Magics, but none with any malintent. 

_ Cas, you seein’ this? _

Castiel reluctantly tears his eyes from Dean to look around the lobby. The ceiling is easily three stories tall with walls of solid marble. Portraits of famous Magics hang on the walls, and the ceiling is black, peppered with magical, moving constellations. 

They both jump when a woman seems to appear in front of them. “Hello.” She has her black curly hair pulled harshly back, severely pointed white eyeliner, and is wearing a low cut black dress covered with moving stars. 

Castiel clears his throat. “Um, reservation for two? Winchester-Novak?”

The hostess smiles, her dark eyes widening slightly. “Ah, Castiel, The Demon Slayer. Welcome to  _ Stellae _ . I will show you to your table.” Castiel shares a glance with Dean as the woman turns towards a dark hallway.  _ The Demon Slayer _ ? He hadn’t heard that name in 70 years. “Right this way,” the woman says over her shoulder. Castiel and Dean follow her side by side, past the front desk and into the dim hall. Once inside, they see that the walls and floor are also covered with moving stars. The woman blends in, her dark skin, hair, and dress merging with the surroundings, all but her white high heels disappearing from view. 

They follow the curved hallway and enter into a grand dining room, and Castiel stops dead in awe. He’s seen a lot of beautiful magic in his time, but nothing like  _ this _ . The ceiling in this room holds not only stars, but entire  _ galaxies  _ swirling in multi-colored glory. Planets float in the towering space between the tables and ceiling, and the white marble floor sparkles with reflections. The circular wall is lined with white marble booths, each flanked with floor-to-ceiling cosmoes-curtains, some pulled closed for privacy. The center of the room is filled with Magics in gowns and suits and costumes, all dancing, all smiling. 

Castiel doesn’t realize he’d been frozen until the hostess clears her throat politely. “This way, gentlemen.” Castiel shakes his head then hurries to catch up to Dean. The hostess leads them across the room to a booth set for two. One seat is extended higher than the other, almost reaching the table top, no doubt done for Dean, and no doubt done with magic. The hostess smiles and gestures for them to take their seats. Dean leaps up and onto the cushioned throne of a chair as Castiel sits down on the opposite side of the table. 

“Here are your menus,” the hostess says, flicking her wrist to make a pair of leather bound pamphlets appear, “and Chef Amos will be right with you. Feel free to close the curtains for privacy - when you do, the moon above will glow brighter to accommodate.” Castiel looks up and sees a miniature moon floating above their heads. “Please, enjoy your food, your dance, and your stay at  _ Stallae _ .” The hostess smiles one last time before turning around, and, in a small flash of light, she transforms into a sleek raven and flies out of sight.

Castiel is looking around, soaking in all the surroundings, all the magic and Magics and the beauty of it all, when he feels a paw on his hand. He looks across the table and sees Dean smiling at him. 

_ Glad you’re feelin’ better. _

“What’d’you mean?”

_ C’mon, man, your anxiety was  _ pulsing _ through the Bond. _

Castiel looks down at his hand and Dean’s paw. Some of the anxiety returns, but he does his best to push it away.

_ Angel - Castiel. Look at me. _

So he does. He looks into Dean’s bright green eyes and sees the stars reflected in them; sees the love written so clearly in their depths, and he can’t look away. So he doesn’t.

_ Everything’s okay, Cas. And everything’s gonna be okay. And I’m always gonna be here. _

“I thought you weren’t good at the sappy stuff.”

_ I am - on occasion. _

“Now is certainly an ‘occasion.’”

_ I guess so. _

Castiel smiles at Dean and uses his free hand to caress his face. Dean leans into Castiel’s hand, purring. And, for the first time in a long while, Castiel feels like everything may work out - even if they can’t cure Dean. This wasn’t so bad. It’s not like he’s missing out on anything - he still  _ has _ Dean, afterall. Things could have gone much differently, been much worse, if he hadn't been so quick to react. 

Scratching behind Dean’s ears, Castiel hears Dean’s earlier words echoing in his mind: ‘ _ this is part of who I am, it always has been…’ _ It stirs something in his mind, something he can’t quite hold onto long enough to form into an actual thought - so he lets it go. Enough brooding. He  _ will _ enjoy his date with Dean. Period.

When they finally look at the menu, it seems to hold anything and everything they could ever want - definitely made with magic to procure the reader’s favorite dishes. Castiel is tempted to order a PB&J, but Dean refuses.

_ This is a fancy-ass place, Cas. You can’t get a fuckin’ PB&J  _ here.  _ It’s sacrilege. _

“ _ You’re _ getting a burger.”

_ Not just any burger - a triple bacon cheeseburger  _ with _ grilled onions, mushrooms, the works. And-  _

“Okay, okay, I get it. I’ll order something else.” Castiel rolls his eyes. “Can cats even eat literally  _ any _ of what you just listed?”

Dean hisses, clearly appalled.  _ I’m not a fucking  _ cat _ , I’m a  _ familiar _ ; there’s a  _ difference-

“Dean.” Castiel grabs Dean’s face in both of his hands. “I am well aware of this, seeing as I’ve been married to you for nearly 20 years.” He pauses. “I am not above tickling you again.”

_ You wouldn’t dare. _

“Oh, but I  _ would _ ,” Castiel says with a grin.

Dean squirms and uses his paws to push Castiel’s hands off him.  _ That’d be three times today!  _ And  _ you dropped a book on my head. _

“That wasn’t intentional.”

_ I’ll bite you. _

“I’ll use magic.”

_ I’ll bite you  _ twice.

“I-”

“Hello, gentlemen. My name is Amos and I will be your chef for this evening. May I take your orders?”

Dean laughs as Castiel’s cheeks turn pink. Castiel shoots him a glare before clearing his throat. “Um, he’ll be having a cheeseburger-”

_ Triple  _ bacon _ cheeseburger, with grilled onions, mushrooms, ketchup, and no pickles! _

Castiel rolls his eyes and repeats Dean’s order to the chef, then glances over the menu again before ordering the shrimp alfredo for himself. Dean mutters his approval as Amos smiles and magics away their menus. He then reaches into a pouch that wasn’t there before, pulling out a pair of beads which he places in front of Castiel and Dean. 

Amos places his hand above Dean’s bead first, making complex hand movements and muttering a spell. The bead morphs and grows before turning into Dean’s burger, a side of fries, and a bowl of water. He then turns and does the same with Castiel’s bead. Dean’s eyes are wide, but Castiel remembers this magic from when he was leading armies; it is an old and complex talent, to make food from nearly nothing. Not all Magics can do it, either. 

Castiel nods his thanks to Amos, then flicks his wrist to close the curtains. 

_ That was awesome! _ Dean says.  _ Not as cool as stuff I’ve seen you do, but still awesome. _

Castiel blushes despite himself and smiles at Dean, seeing the moon, which is now the brightness of a strong candle, washing Dean in a soft glow. “You look beautiful.”

_ You’re not bad yourself, _ Dean says cockily before eyeing the burger that’s bigger than his head.  _ I should have thought this through. _

“Here.” Castiel pulls Dean’s burger over to his side of the table and picks up a knife, cutting it into Dean-sized pieces before pushing it back across the table.

_ I retract what I said before. You’re gorgeous and amazing and I love you, _ Dean says as he bites into a piece of the burger and closes his eyes, clearly in ecstasy. 

Castiel laughs and moves his fork slowly through his pasta while keeping one eye on his husband. They both work their way through their food, Dean eventually climbing up onto the table in order to reach better. Dean finishes first, flopping over on his side and purring, staring dazedly at Castiel.

Castiel pauses with his fork halfway to his mouth. “You look like you just overdosed on catnip.”

Dean just rolls onto his back and looks at Castiel upside down, paws dangling unevenly in the air.

“Was it that good?” Castiel says through a mouthful of shrimp.

Dean just chirrups.

Castiel swallows and pushes his empty plate to the side, resting his chin on his hand. “Does this mean you’re too full for dessert?”

Dean immediately flips over onto his feet, stumbling a little as he says,  _ Woah, woah, woah, I never said  _ that! _ You think I’d pass up the pie at this place? _

Castiel scratches under Dean’s chin with his free hand and smirks. “No, my love, I would never think that little of you.”

_ Good. I’m a fucking force of nature. _

“You sure are,” Castiel says in all seriousness while scratching behind Dean’s ears. They sit like that for a minute before Castiel can’t resist anymore and grabs Dean up and snuggles him to his chest. Dean rubs his face against Castiel’s beard. “You’re terrifying. Ferocious. All-powerful.”

_ Mmm. You’d better believe it, Angel. I’ll rip you to shreds. _ Dean licks Castiel’s cheek, and Castiel kisses the top of Dean’s head before flipping him on his back and rubbing his toe-pads. Dean closes his eyes and purrs so loudly the vibrations tickle Castiel’s sternum. After a while, Dean opens one eye to peer at Castiel.  _ Now, about that pie… _

**

After sharing a slice of apple pie with whipped cream - which Dean got all over his whiskers, and Castiel wiped off with a napkin rather than magic - they open the curtains to watch the dancing. There are people with ball gowns that fade from color to color; a man with a hat that blooms flowers which then revert back to saplings before blooming again; a few people wearing costumes that Castiel recognizes from some of Dean’s favorite movies; there doesn’t seem to be a theme, nor a coordination to the dancing. And it looks wonderful.

Dean rolls onto his back where he lies on Castiel’s lap and paws at Castiel’s hand hanging off the table.  _ Cas? _

“Yes, Dean?”

_ You wanna dance? _

Castiel hesitates, then looks down at Dean. “I don’t know how to dance- you know that.”

_ Yeah, well neither do half of these Magics. C’mon, man, it’ll be fun! _

Castiel deliberates, unsure of how they would manage it with their current situation, but before he can answer Dean is perched on his shoulder nuzzling his ear. 

_ Caaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaas, c’mon! _

Castiel hesitates a moment more, then lets out a breath and sands abruptly causing Dean to wobble and dig in his claws to stay on Castiel’s shoulder. Castiel walks them over to a secluded corner of the dance floor and looks around, noticing for the first time that there’s no music. “They must be using a bubble-head charm, to all have their own music,” he mused.

_ Can you make one for us? _

Castiel turns to look sideways at Dean. “What kind of music?”

_ You have to ask? Led Zeppelin, all the way.  _

Castiel can hear the smile in his voice. He does the charm, and suddenly all other noise is blocked out by ‘Whole Lotta Love’.

_ Aw, yeah! _ Dean says as he maneuvers so he’s facing the opposite way as Castiel, then says,  _ Catch me, Cas. _

Before Castiel can finish saying “what” Dean retracts his hind claws and lets himself slip down into Castiel’s arms, his front paws still on his shoulder. Dean looks into Castiel’s eyes.  _ You almost let me fall! _

“Not true. I always catch you.” Castiel hums along to the song and closes his eyes, swaying as if to a slow dance with Dean in his arms as the lyrics  _ ‘I’m gonna give you my love / I’m gonna give you my love’ _ play in their ears. 

They dance like that to several more songs, despite none of them really being slow songs, before Castiel opens his eyes and sees that half of the Magics around them have transformed into their Familiar form. 

“Dean,” Castiel says, stopping his swaying. “Look.”

Dean opens his eyes and Castiel watches them widen as he realizes what is going on.  _ Damn… _ he says, twisting around to look at the Magics around them. Among them are a deer, a squirrel, a hummingbird, and even a lioness who has her paws on her partner’s shoulders, dancing. Everyone is dancing, and smiling, and it is the most beautiful magic of all.

Castiel remembers the times, very early in his long life, when Familiars were still looked down on as less than Witches, and smiles to himself at how far he has seen the world come. He looks back to Dean, and thinks how far  _ they _ have come. He smiles fondly at the back of Dean’s head as he watches the crowd around them. Yes, Castiel thinks, this will all work out.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Castiel remembers...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So...I may have written a lot today...and am now posting a THIRD CHAPTER in ONE DAY. (Please don't continue to expect this of me XD )

**The Memories:** The moon is high in the sky by the time Castiel and Dean walk out of  _ Stallae _ . Dean is in Castiel’s arms, purring in his sleep. Castiel smiles fondly before holding Dean just a little tighter and teleporting back home. When they arrive, he immediately senses a friendly presence inside the house, which he this time recognizes as Sam and Eileen. 

He walks through the wards and feels them welcome him home, feels the center-place of his magic calling to him. Castiel walks carefully so as not to jostle Dean, who has his paws curled under him in just the cutest way- though he wouldn’t dare tell Dean that. Castiel hums to himself as he goes up the front steps, and places his hand on the door to unlock it. The warding glows gold for a moment at his touch before swinging open. 

Inside, Castiel looks around for Sam and Eileen until he hears a loud grumble coming from the guest room. Castiel shakes his head as he re-wards the door for the millionth time, recognizing Sam’s snore and remembering him joking that he married Eileen because she was the only one who wouldn’t mind it. Castiel passes their room and peeps in the cracked door, seeing Sam curled around Eileen in his dog form, both of them sleeping soundly. 

He closes the door fully, softly, and walks to the master bedroom while stifling a yawn. It isn’t too late, but the night is clear and cold, and he is full and content. His magic and mind feel more settled than they have in three years, and he can tell from the bond that Dean feels the same way. 

Castiel closes the bedroom door and makes his way to the bed by memory and moonlight. As his eyes adjust, he places Dean on the bed where he barely stirs. Castiel kisses Dean’s head before taking off his shoes, trenchcoat, and tie, not bothering with fully changing. He hesitates a moment before rolling Dean on his side and un-velcroing his suit. Thankfully he doesn’t seem bothered. 

Castiel looks at the tiny clothing for a while, going back to his thoughts from that morning. He looks over at Dean’s dresser, then walks over to it and puts one hand on the top drawer handle. Opening it, Castiel’s breathing hitches, seeing Dean’s array of neatly folded flannels, just where he’d left them three years ago. 

Castiel rummages in the drawer one handed until he finds what he is looking for: the faded white and blue flannel Dean had worn when they first met, over 20 years ago. Castiel pulls it out from under the other shirts, upsetting the pile. Castiel brings it to his face with shaking hands and inhales. It smells mostly of the cedar dresser it had been in, but there are also hints of whisky, gasoline, and a smell distinctly  _ Dean _ . 

Castiel doesn’t know how long he stands there, but it’s long enough for a million memories of Dean to flash through his mind: the first time Castiel lay eyes on him at the Roadhouse Bar, and how he instantly felt a spark when Dean eyed him flirtily and gave that famous crooked smile; the first time they held hands, feeling Dean’s calluses and seeing his smattering of freckles up close; the first time they kissed, a few weeks after meeting, and how it was soft and cautious and so, so sweet, with their noses in the wrong place and smiles on their lips; the first time they shared their magic, and it felt like a billion stars going nova in his lungs, like choking on blooming flowers while also breathing better than he ever had. 

He remembers so many things, so many things that he misses. But then he catches himself. Castiel moves slowly, shifting the small tuxedo to be on top of the flannel in his hands. He looks at it, and he remembers. He remembers the first time he saw Dean shift, saw that spark of golden light and stared in wonderment at how gracefully the change happened, at how beautiful Dean was in either form; he remembers Dean curled up on his chest as a tabby when Castiel was horribly sick with a magical illness, and how much comfort Dean’s purrs brought him; he remembers the last three years, and how, though they were close before, though they were so in love before, how the near-fatal demon encounter had caused them to become even closer, to love and cherish all the more. 

Castiel looks behind him to see his husband sleeping on his side, small snores blowing his whiskers, his fluffy tail flicking periodically. He turns back to the dresser and runs a sleeve over his eyes before straightening the clothes and placing the newest addition on the top. Smiling to himself, Castiel closes the drawer and heads back to the bed. He gently scoops Dean into his arms, cradling him as he pulls back the covers and crawls under them. As he stills, Dean stretches and yawns, blinking sleepily at Castiel with those green, green eyes. 

_ ‘verything okay, Cas? _

Castiel pulls Dean closer, his chin on Dean’s head, hugging him to his chest. “Yes, Dean. Everything is good.”

And it really is.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Get ready for this one!

**The next day:** They all wake early the next morning, Castiel to the smell of bacon. Castiel stretches and yawns, blinking at Dean where he lays beside him, on his back, paws curled in the air. He reaches over and scratches Dean’s belly. Dean arches backwards and stretches his paws into the air, claws revealing themselves. Castiel chuckles.

“Good morning, Dean. I believe I smell bacon.”

_ Way ahead of you, Angel. I was  _ dreaming _ of it. _ Dean purrs as Castiel scratches under his chin, then brings his paws down to encase Castiel’s wrist in a hug.  _ Thanks for last night, Cas. It was...real nice. _

“It was Sam’s idea-”

_ But you agreed to go. I know you worry- a lot- and I know you worry ‘bout me the most. Just...thank you. It was great. _

Castiel feels guilt washing over him, for how few outings they have gone on in the past three years, but feels Dean pushing back at the bond, sweeping those thoughts into a corner, replacing them with love, trust, admiration. 

There is a mischievous glint in Dean’s eye.  _ Is that brooding I detect? _

Castiel can’t help but smile. “No, not at all. I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

_ I’ll grab your face again _ , Dean warns, rolling over into a ready stance.

“I’ll tickle you mercilessly.”

_ I’ll bite your nose, damnit. _

“I’ll…” Castiel pauses, eyes roaming the room, before giving a sly grin. “I’ll eat all the bacon.  _ All. Of. It. _ ”

Dean gasps.  _ You wouldn’t  _ dare _! _

“Oh, but I would, my dearest. Race you there?”

_ You’re on! _ Dean turns tail and bounds off the bed as Castiel laughs and throws off the blankets, chasing after him. As he rounds the corner into the kitchen he hears Sam yell, “ _ What the  _ fuck  _ Dean?” _

Castiel throws his head back laughing when he sees his husband scrambling up Sam’s back while Sam flails, trying not to drop the pan of sizzling bacon. “It’s not even done cooking yet! Jesus-  _ fuck! _ ” Sam half shouts, half laughs, as Dean perches haphazardly on his head. 

Dean just meows loudly, staring defiantly at Castiel. Eileen sits at the table trying to hide a grin from Sam, and Castiel feels a warmth bubbling in his chest. Everything will be okay.

**

After a filling breakfast, they all go to the backyard to enjoy the early fall weather. Sam kisses Eileen as they walk out the door, and immediately transforms into his dog form, barking and running around the yard. Dean shoots after him, brushing Castiel’s leg affectionately as he passes. Eileen rolls her eyes and signs, ‘Winchesters’, to which Castiel merely nods and laughs. He asks if she would like to join him in his workshop, then leads the way after Eileen nods eagerly. 

Once inside, Eileen gets Castiel’s attention and begins signing. ‘So, I have a theory.’

‘Shoot.’

‘Well, Sam and I have been researching too, and I found an old spell that can deplete or even take away someone’s magic entirely.’

Castiel nods. Dean had not only been trapped in his cat form three years ago: he had also lost his ability to perform magic. 

‘Well, it’s an old Triple Magic Spell- like,  _ really _ old, and  _ very _ forbidden.’ Eileen pulls out her phone and scrolls through pictures before she finds the one she is looking for, and shows the photo of an old tome to Castiel. He scans the page, but not carefully at first, since he is already familiar with this spell- he had researched it in depth for the first year after the curse to no avail. He couldn’t find a way to reverse it. But then he sees it. 

‘What’s that?’ he asks, pointing to a small symbol on the bottom right corner of the page. 

Eileen squints, then zooms in on the mark. ‘I don’t know, I hadn’t noticed it before.’ 

Castiel wracks his brain for where he had seen that mark. It looks like a tilted number 7 with two smaller marks inside of it. And then it clicks. Castiel frantically pulls out his phone and scrolls back through a few year’s worth of pictures. He gasps when he finds it, realizing he was right. He shoves his phone at Eileen, and points at Dean’s right front leg where his tabby stripes form a shape nearly identical to the one on the page. 

Castiel had noticed the difference in Dean’s stripes a little after a month into the curse, but didn’t think much of it. Now, seeing the symbols side by side, he recognized them for what they are: the Mark of Cain.

**The Mark of Cain:** ‘Cain is an old Demon, the first Demon.’ Castiel explains, pacing back and forth, signing frantically to Eileen. ‘He made the knights of Hell, all of whom my Coven destroyed. We had assumed Cain dead as well, long ago. He was more of a legend than anything real. This means he’s here. This means he was never gone. This means he’s pissed- and he’s after  _ me _ .’

‘But...why has he been quiet, then?’ Eileen asks. ‘You killed the demon he sent, why stop there?’

Castiel pauses in his pacing. ‘Maybe he’s luring me into a false sense of security. Maybe...maybe that was his plan all along…’ Castiel sinks to the floor, putting his head in his hands. He feels his magic going haywire, knows he’s not keeping his walls on the bond strong enough to keep this a secret from Dean.

Sure enough, not a moment later, he hears an alerted,  _ Cas?! _

Soon after he hears scratching at the door to his workshop. He flicks his hand towards the door without looking up, and in barrel Dean and Sam, still in dog form. Sam heads to Eileen, and Dean races over to Castiel.  _ Cas, what- _

But Castiel just grabs Dean to him and holds him tight, eyes closed. Dean allows it, but Castiel can tell he is tense. He allows himself a few minutes of this, of comfort, before standing and addressing Dean, now on the table, and Sam, now in human form. Castiel explains what he and Eileen discovered, and he can tell Dean is stealing himself with every word. 

Everyone is quiet for a while until Dean looks Castiel in the eye and says,  _ We’ve got work to do. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So...I just made this a *lot* more complicated than I intended--hope you all like this plot twist! As you can probably tell, I'm changing up what the MoC is, and how it works, in this story. I promise, there will be more fluff later, but for now: PLOT!


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Research ensues, and tensions rise.

**The Research:** The next hours pass in a blur for Castiel. Dean gets set up with an iPad for research alongside Eileen, while Sam and Castiel tear into the books Castiel has compiled over the years. Everyone is intent on one thing: finding out everything they can about Cain. 

Now that they know who exactly was behind Dean’s curse, Castiel feels a sense of relief despite...well, everything. He has a  _ lead _ for the first time. And all he needs now is to figure out how to end this. How to get revenge. How to maybe even  _ fix _ everything. 

But he will settle for simply killing Cain. 

Castiel reaches out with his bond to Dean and can feel his emotions running strong. Dean is, for lack of a better word, hyped. Castiel knows that, before he and Dean met, Dean and Sam used to be a sort of supernatural law enforcement, keeping rogue creatures tamed, and, if need be, eliminating them. They had stopped when their parents and Sam’s then-fiance Jessica were killed in a car crash--they couldn’t lose each other too, and gave up “hunting”, as they called it, for good. So, Castiel knows Dean misses the thrill of the hunt, of research and things of the like, and that he is  _ really  _ enjoying having something like this to focus on. 

Throughout the day, Castiel prepares meals and snacks for everyone, and they research well into the night before Sam finally speaks up, also signing for Eileen. “Okay, so get this: I was looking through Christian lore, and I found out that there  _ is _ a way to kill Cain. It says ‘the one who bears the mark of Cain/can bring forth his end of reign/if before they meet their fall/they partake the trials all/pulling forth the blade of Cain/the only thing by which he’s slain.’”

Everyone grows quiet and all eyes go to Dean, who blinks back and looks down at the mark on his right front leg. 

Castiel clears his throat. “Does- does it say what the trials are?” He knows terror is leaking through the bond to Dean because he feels eyes on him. When he looks across the table Dean meets his gaze, and says  _ It’ll be alright. I got this.  _ We  _ got this. _

Castiel nods once before looking back to Sam, who clears his throat. “Um, yeah.” He turns the page of the ancient book he has before him and the crackling of the worn paper, probably animal skin, fills the silence in the room. “It says, ‘capture the moon’s blood and the bone of the earth/slay an innocent to burn on the hearth/last, find the one from which it began/finally you will shake the blade’s hand.’”

It’s quiet for a moment before Dean says,  _ What the everliving  _ fuck _ does  _ that _ mean? _

Sam must hear it too because he jumps. Castiel signs Dean’s question to Eileen, who thinks for a moment before signing, ‘Well, in Greek mythology, Selene is the goddess of the moon, and is literally called the moon itself.’

Sam signs back, ‘So, are you saying we need the literal blood of a  _ goddess _ ?’

Eileen shrugs. ‘It’s a guess.’

Castiel chimes in, speaking and signing. “It’s a  _ good  _ guess. I’ve heard of spells that can trap a god or goddess.” He pauses. “As for the bone of the earth, I may have an idea. I remember when I first joined my coven, I learned of different rituals for all the main deities. For Gaia, or Mother Earth, you have to sacrifice a black lamb. Their bones were then considered sacred.” 

Sam nods, thinking. “You know, that could be a twofer. In Christianity, a lamb is considered an innocent animal, the most pure. So...we have to kill a lamb and burn it...and take it’s bones.” A crease appears between his eyebrows as he speaks.

Castiel nods. “This sounds...like an offering, to whomever the ‘One From Which it Began’ is. A lamb bone? A goddesses blood? It has to be an offering, right?” 

Eileen purses her lips. ‘It really does. That makes the most sense…’ 

“And there’s no more instructions about how to get the blade,” Sam interjects. “Just what I read. It sounds like...maybe we need to summon the Creator? Or, I guess... _ God _ ?”

They all sit in silence for a moment, considering the task at hand. Castiel thinks it makes sense, what they have surmised so far. It sounds like the basis for a ritual, for an offering- nothing too out of line for a group of Magics, yet still more daunting than anything he had faced in a few decades. Demons he can deal with.  _ Gods _ , though? 

Castiel looks over at Sam and Eileen, deep in a signed conversation, before his eyes fall on Dean, who is sitting on the table across from Castiel, shoulders slumped, eyes unfocused. 

“Oh…” Castiel immediately stands and reaches for Dean, who flinches at being broken from thought before sinking into Castiel’s arms. Castiel grabs Dean up and brings him to his chest. He feels the fear Dean had been concealing before pulsing through their bond. They both know summoning a god can be risky, but  _ two _ ? And the thought of having to battle the oldest, most powerful demon...it was a lot. 

Castiel strokes Dean from head to tail, humming quietly. They sit like this for a few minutes before Castiel rises and addresses Sam. “I believe we are heading to bed now. We can work more on this tomorrow.”

Sam glances at Dean, then back to Castiel and gives a curt nod before signing what Castiel said to Eileen. Castiel carries Dean back to their bedroom and wraps the blanket around them both once they lay down. Dean is quiet, but Castiel knows better than to push. He just strokes Dean’s back while he curls into Castiel’s chest for a long while.

Eventually Dean whispers in Castiel’s mind,  _ What if I can’t do it? What if I can’t do it, like...like  _ this _? _

Castiel stops his petting and Lays his chin on Dean’s head, holding him close. “You are a force of nature, Dean Winchester-Novak. You are powerful beyond belief. You can do this. Plus,” Castiel moves so he is nose to nose with Dean. “You have me. And together, there is nothing we can’t do.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading this far! I hope you don't mind this extra plot arc- not as much fluff right now, but are y'all in for one hell of a ride in the next few chapters!!  
> (I have a plan for pretty much the entire rest of this story, and there are gonna be several more chapters--and to think, I planned this to be a 1-3k one shot slice of life piece! Curse my writer brain!)


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The crew works together, does some landscaping, and a bit of summoning.

**The Moon Goddess:** The next day, they search for summoning spells. This time, it’s Eileen who speaks up first, waving her hands to get everyone’s attention. ‘I’ve got it!’ she signs excitedly. ‘It’s a simple list of ingredients. All we need is the tail hair of a white horse, a moonflower, the feathers of a black owl, and it has to all be set on fire, in a bowl floating on water, under full moonlight.’ She pauses. ‘Well, maybe not  _ entirely _ simple, but at least it’s not  _ super  _ specific.’

Castiel already has a moonflower and the feathers. Sam goes out to visit a farmer nearby, a friend of Castiel’s, to retrieve the horse's hair while the others continue to prepare for the ceremony. Eileen and Castiel work on forming a small pond in his backyard with magic on which to float the bowl, since Dean found lore saying the spell works best in a natural body of water, under a full moon- which, luckily, will happen tonight. 

Meanwhile, Dean reads over the spell to summon Selene, memorizing the unfamiliar sounds of the ancient Greek words. Castiel can feel Dean’s nervousness but also a twinge of excitement and, buried deep, hope. He glances over to the back porch and sees Dean taking a break, looking up at the sky. Castiel is close enough to see Dean’s pupils are mere slits in the evening sunlight, revealing his startlingly green and gold eyes. Castiel’s heart leaps as Dean looks over to meet his gaze, and he smiles. Dean grins back and flicks his tail before turning back to the notes in front of him. 

Castiel returns to helping Eileen form the pond, both using intricate hand motions and channeling their magic to not only move the earth but pull water from within the soil and the roots of nearby plants. After ten more minutes they have a perfectly round pond, about six feet across and just a few feet deep. The Witches share satisfied smiles, and Castiel wipes the sweat from his brow. Despite the autumn chill, the magic had made him warm. 

Bending down, Eileen grabs the clay bowl they had found earlier in Castiel’s workshop and places it to float on the water. They watch it move gently in the breeze, and Castiel surveys the backyard with the new addition. ‘Maybe I should do more landscaping,’ Castiel signs. ‘This looks pretty good.’

Eileen laughs, then turns when Castiel looks behind her to see Sam bounding across the yard. “Got it!” he calls, waving a bundle of horse hair tied together with a piece of twine. Castiel takes the hair from Sam then looks at the sky. Sundown is in just a few minutes, but it will take another hour before they can cast the spell- before  _ Dean  _ can cast the spell. 

They’d all thought this through over coffee and eggs this morning, and figured that since Eileen can do spellwork without actually saying the words, and since Non-Magics can do some Physical spells that use chants, incantations, and ingredients, then it should work for Dean. 

Castiel prays to the gods that it will. It  _ has _ to. 

**

Castiel and Dean sit on one side of the table, Sam and Eileen on the other, as they eat their dinner in silence, sneaking glances at the darkening sky out the window. Castiel notices Dean picking at his food, which is a rarity, but decides to let him deal with the upcoming task in his own way. He still sends comfort and love through their bond, nonetheless. 

The hour passes slowly, but it passes, and they find themselves trekking to the new pond, ingredients in hand. They lay the feathers, tail hair, and flower next to the pond, and Castiel summons the bowl from the other side of the lake, stopping it right in front of Dean. He crouches and scratches between his husband’s ears. “Are you ready?”

Dean looks up at Castiel, a determined look in his eyes.  _ As I’ll ever be. _

Castiel strokes him one more time and nods. “Then let’s do this.” He rises and backs up a step, moving Dean out of shadow. Dean then adds the ingredients one by one, picking them up with his mouth and placing them in the bowl. When he’s done, Sam hands him a match, which he then lights with magic. Dean turns and drops the match into the bowl, and with a twist of his wrist Castiel sends the bowl to the center of the pond. 

He can hear Dean chanting in his mind, and after a few moments a strong magic prickles the air. Dean falters for a moment, but pushes through. As he finishes, a soft glow emits from the bowl, and a mist rises into the air above it, seemingly filled with thousands of tiny stars. Castiel can’t help but think that it  _ looks  _ like magic  _ feels _ .

Then, where there once was only light, a woman appears. She has long black hair, down to her ankles, like a waterfall of night. She wears a pure white gown that looks like it is made of moonlight itself, emitting a soft, organic glow and contrasting with her dark skin. Her eyes are closed, and Castiel notices a patch of vitiligo over her right eye in the shape of a crescent moon. 

When she finally opens her eyes, the group releases a collective breath, because where eyes should be are what look like tiny moons, glowing like the dress. Then she speaks, her lips unmoving, the melodic sound of her voice drifting through their minds.

_ For what have you brought me to this place? _ she asks, not sounding unkind, but not quite gentle either. 

Dean clears his throat, and from Eileen’s expression, Castiel knows she can hear him as well.  _ We- well,  _ I _ , have a favor to ask of you. _

Selene looks down and meets Dean’s eye.  _ And what might that be? _

_ I need some of your blood, for an offering, to get the blade of Cain. We’re going to kill him. _

If Castiel had expected the goddess to look surprised, or offended, he would have been wrong. She looks, in honesty,  _ relieved _ . 

_ I have been hoping for this day since the Dawn. Cain has brought death and chaos to me and my sisters. I am happy to help. _ Selene moves then, slowly and gracefully. She raises a hand and after a small glow, a glass dagger appears in her grasp. Selene places it to her right palm, and immediately a steady flow of sparkling silver blood streams from her hand. 

With a flick of her left wrist, the dagger transforms into a small vial, which she fills to the brim with her blood. A blink, and a cork stoppers the bottle. Selene bends smoothly to place the vial in front of Dean, stands, closes her eyes, and with a soft whisper of the wind, she is gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really enjoyed writing this chapter--I hope you all liked it as well!


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fluff, fluff, fluff

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is a short interlude from plot, for some FLUFF. No angst even; just fluff. Pure, like cotton candy, and just as tooth rotting. Enjoy!

**Taking a Rest:** Dean grows calmer after his encounter with the moon goddess. Castiel can feel the weight lifted off their bond, a weight that had grown so constant he’d forgotten its presence. He expects Dean to boast to Sam about having talked to a goddess, having used his ‘charm’, as he calls it, to sway her, but Dean is apparently too tired. Castiel showers off, and when he’s done he finds Dean curled up on a pillow on their bed. 

Sam and Eileen are still in the living room, watching a show on the television, and Castiel calls a goodnight to them before entering the master bedroom and closing the door behind him. Dean opens one eye to look at Castiel, then yawns.  _ Hey gorgeous, _ he all but purrs. 

Castiel tugs on his ratty t-shirt, and wrinkles his nose playfully at Dean. “You have poor taste, I’m afraid. Getting desperate in your old age?”

Dean mock-gasps, fully awake now.  _ I am  _ not _ old. I’m only, like, thirty. _

Castiel shakes his head as he lays on the bed and opens his arms for Dean. “Mmm. I think you’ve lost count. You were thirty- _ two _ when we met, and that’s been  _ twenty years _ , so, my love, you’re just a  _ bit _ off.”

_ Hmph, _ Dean grumbles as he cuddles up next to Castiel.  _ Well, I don’t look a day over 25.  _ And _ , aren’t you, like, 400? _

“How dare you? I’m not even 319 yet. Besides,” Castiel says, burying his nose in his husband’s fur, “shouldn’t we count in cat years for you? That would make you…”

_ Don’t you dare! _

“...225!”

_ Fucking Ailuros, Cas! You’ve done it now,  _ Dean growls as he worms out of Castiel’s arms. He moves back a few inches and sits up on his hind paws, front legs held at the ready to attack. 

Castiel props up on one elbow, holding his right hand at the ready. “You sure you want to do this, Dean?” Castiel asks, a smile threatening to turn up the corners of his lips.

_ Fuck yes, I took on a  _ god _ today, Cas, I can do  _ anything _. _

Ah, Castiel thinks, there it is. Then he does smile as he reaches forward to tickle Dean, but is parried with a swipe of a paw, claws and all. “Okay, then,” he says, pushing himself into a sitting position, “you’re on.”

Castiel reaches for Dean, but he dodges, trotting around the side of the bed, tail fluffed and twitching, pupils fully dilated, grin on his face.  _ Gotta be quicker than that, sweetheart. _

Castiel blushes at the nickname, but lunges forward to grab Dean with both arms, throwing himself across the bed. He closes his arms around nothing, falling on his face, and feels paws land heavily on his back. 

_ Aaaaaand, I think that makes  _ me _ the winner- again!  _ Dean says as he kneads his claws into Castiel’s back, walking in a small circle before flopping down in a ball between his husband’s shoulder blades. 

Castiel chuckles as Dean purrs. “I suppose it does.” After a while, Castiel feels a bit cramped, and whispers, “Dean?” but knows he is already asleep. Not wanting to wake him, Castiel shifts slightly to get comfortable and settles in for the night. “I love you,” he says softly, before drifting into a dreamless sleep.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Castiel and Dean visit an old friend

**The Farm:** The next morning, Castiel and Dean go to visit their farmer friend, Garth. (Dean insisted on going, and Castiel felt too guilty to say no.) Garth is an Unbound wolf Familiar, and seems to not mind being Unbound at all. He acts as a local supplier for Magics in the area, what with his acres of garden, his array of animals, and his wide knowledge of the supernatural. But Garth has a soft heart, and he genuinely cares about his animals. So, Castiel isn’t too thrilled about asking him to sacrifice one of them- especially a  _ baby _ . 

Dean had finally agreed to let Castiel carry him after Castiel said  _ “Dean, your pride is one thing; but there is literally a murderous demon after us at the moment, and I don’t really care that you are a ‘grown man with four fucking legs’ and that you can ‘walk just fine’- I need to keep you  _ alive _.” _

So, after teleporting to Garth’s farm, Castiel walks up the path to his house with Dean grumbling in his arms. Castiel sighs and rolls his eyes before knocking on Garth’s door. Not a moment later it flies open, and before them stands a scrawny young Familiar with a budding beard, red flannel, and overalls. 

“Hey there, Castiel! Dean!” Garth smiles as he pulls them into a group hug. Castiel hears Dean sigh, but knows he truly likes Garth. “How’re y’all doin’? I saw Sam yesterday, he seemed in a rush and didn’t really explain- are y’all doin’ a  _ spell _ ?” he asks, leaning in close to whisper the last part. 

Castiel pauses, deliberating how much to tell Garth before answering. “Yes, in a way. It is...complicated. And urgent. But I don’t want to get too many people involved.” Castiel keeps his answer vague, not wanting to put Garth in danger by knowing too much. 

Garth whistles and leans back, hands on his hips, giving Castiel a once over. “Sounds like a doozy. Welp, I won’t pry, but if you need anything just give me a holler. What’ll it be today?”

Castiel hesitates again. “Well...we- we need one of your animals for the...spell.”

“Oh, sure! What kinda hair do you need? Or feathers? Or is it tears this time? Because I have this hen that keeps crying, and-”

“Actually,” Castiel cuts in, closing his eyes, steeling himself for what is next. “We need a lamb. A black lamb.” Dean sends Castiel comfort through their bond, pushing Castiel to go on. “To sacrifice.”

Garth blinks at Castiel for a moment, not seeming to understand at first before making a small ‘O’ with his lips and looking down at his feet. “Oh...I see.  _ That _ kind of...spell.”

Castiel grimaces at the pained look on Garth’s face. 

“Welp, lucky for you, Lucille just had a litter of three, it’s real rare, actually; they barely ever have more than- more than one, you see…” Garth rambles, running a hand through his hair before letting out a breath and nodding, eyes firm. “Okay, follow me.”

Garth moves past Castiel and Dean and closes the door behind him, walking around the side of his house to a small shed of sorts. Inside, Castiel sees an ewe with three tiny lambs next to her, sleeping- two white, like the mother, and one black. He hears Garth make a small noise, then clear his throat. 

Garth leans down and pets the ewe before stoking the two white lambs, then picks up the black one, cradling it in his arms. “Runt of the litter,” he mumbles, wiping his nose with one arm before latching it back around the little lamb. “She- she barely made it. But she’s a strong one, Eve. Such- such a good girl-” He breaks off into tears, pressing his face into Eve’s neck and shaking with sobs. 

Dean and Castiel share a glance before Dean nods and Castiel sets him on the ground. They both move over to Garth, and Castiel bends to one knee to wrap his arms around his friend. Dean settles around Garth’s ankle. 

“I will ensure that it is painless for her, and give her a blessing,” Castiel promises. “It- it  _ is  _ for a good cause.”

Garth nods, clearing his throat again. “I know- I know y’all don’t ever ask for much, and when you do, you really need it. It’s just...a bit hard. But I’ll be okay.” He sniffs, then shifts to stand as Castiel and Dean move away. “I’ll walk you to the front.”

Dean leaps up into Castiel’s arms, and they lead the way back to where Garth’s wards end and Castiel is able to teleport, Castiel walking well ahead of Garth to give him extra space. 

_ I know you hate this, Cas, but we’ve gotta do it, _ Dean says, nuzzling Castiel’s hand.

“I know,” Castiel mumbles. “It doesn’t make me hate it any less.”

After a few minutes, Garth meets them at the edge of the property, eyes red, but dry. “You take care of her, Castiel,” Garth says before kissing Eve’s head and reluctantly handing her over to Castiel’s free arm. 

“I will,” Castel says solemnly. He shares a sad look with Garth before nodding, and a second later they are gone,

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for this chapter being a bit of a downer--it is a necessary evil. at least in my eyes.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dean does the next trial, Castiel worries, and an Epic Battle takes place

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry this chapter has taken longer than usual to publish! There's been a lot going on for me recently--but don't worry, I will *not* abandon this fic. I love it way too much. Anyway, enjoy!

**The bone of the earth:** Castiel remembers the ritual from his first years in his coven. He hadn’t performed it, but his friend Bathazar had. So, he recaps again what they will need to do. “First I will put a spell on the lamb to make her sleep, and not feel pain. Then, Dean, you will say the incantation as you slice her throat with the knife Eileen enchanted. After it is... _ over _ , we will extract a rib bone, and then Dean will set fire to the body. And that...should complete the next two trials.”

Castiel knows there is a crease in his brow, and he knows Dean is watching him, but he keeps his walls on their bond up. He doesn’t want Dean to know how worried he is; the first trial just went so... _ smoothly _ , and he doesn’t think they will get off as easily this time. 

Nevertheless, they must proceed. The sacrifice has to take place precisely at sun-down or sun-up, and they would rather not wait until tomorrow. So, ten minutes before the sun is due to set, the group treks out to the altar Sam had set up earlier, complete with the traditional offerings of gold, fruit, and various weeds and flowers. 

Castiel places the already sleeping lamb onto the altar as Dean runs through his chant for the upteenth time. Pulling down a tiny bit of his wall, Castiel sends reassurance Dean’s way, and is met with a push-back of confidence on Dean’s end. Castiel doesn’t meet Dean’s gaze after refusing to let him into his side of the bond, and shuffles away under the pretense of ‘preparation’. 

A few minutes later, and Sam’s timer goes off as the sun meets the horizon line. Castiel takes a deep breath as Eileen hands Dean the knife; as Dean easily wields it in his mouth, thanks to Eileen’s enchantments; as he hears Dean chanting through their bond; as he moves to slice the lambs throat, the setting sun leaving them in moonlit shadow...as all noise is drowned out by a high pitched screech, and Castiel falls to his knees in agony.

He feels a hand on his shoulder, feels fur in his face, feels every bone in his body being squeezed under so much pressure they could become diamonds. Then he feels a fear that is not his own. And that’s all it takes to get Castiel to open his eyes- and see he is lying on his side in the grass, shaking. Dean is in front of him in a protective stance, facing away, hackles raised. 

Castiel follows Dean’s gaze- realizing that yes, even moving his  _ eyes  _ hurts- and sees a dark, smokey figure flying around where he knows his wards end, trying over and again to penetrate the barrier. “ _ No… _ ” Castiel groans, causing Dean to jump and turn to look at him. Castiel nods, and Dean turns back around to keep an eye on the figure- the  _ demon _ .

Castiel assesses himself with his magic- which, of course, has been depleted just to keep him  _ alive _ \- and finds that he has avoided any internal damage. Looking down, he sees his arms are covered in black, pulsing tendrils- a curse. The demon must be very powerful, to be able to send a curse through the wards, but thankfully not powerful enough to get through entirely. 

It is then Castiel notices Sam and Eileen further down the lawn, casting spell after spell at the demon. But it isn’t relenting. Castiel thinks, which is all he can do at the moment, as he can barely move. The curse, he knows now, is meant to kill the target on impact. He just happened to be lucky that his magic is stronger than most. It’s keeping him alive- so far. 

If Dean’s magic were intact, he could siphon some from him, as Witches and Familiars can share magic. But it’s not, so that’s out of the question. But if there was some other way for Castiel to get just a  _ bit _ more magic, he could zap this curse into oblivion... 

He looks again at Sam and Eileen, and knows they will run themselves dry before standing down. They are both very powerful Magics, but no one can last forever, especially at the rate they are casting spells. 

Then an idea hits him.

“Dean,” Castiel whispers, but it’s enough. Dean turns an ear to listen to Castiel, not taking his eyes off the demon. “I need you to tell Sam to stop attacking. I’m going to let the demon in.”

Dean turns around fully, then.  _ You  _ what _? _

“Trust me,” Castiel pleads. “Tell him to back off, for exactly 30 seconds. Then we hit it with everything we have.” 

Dean looks at Castiel a moment more before nodding and taking back his original stance. Castiel sees Sam glance over at Dean, nod, then look to Eileen. They had done the same spell Castiel had in order to hear Dean’s thoughts, just in case it would be useful. Eileen had also wanted to hear Sam’s voice. Castiel was grateful for that now. The demon wouldn’t know what was coming. 

Castiel whispers, eyes on the demon, “In three...two…” he takes a shaky breath, and lets it out. “Now.” 

Everything after that happens so quickly. Castiel says “now” as the demon rears back and lunges towards the barrier again- only when it gets there, Castiel has dismantled all of his wards, and the demon barrels through the air and makes the ground shake with its impact. Castiel instantaneously uses the extra magic he had been putting into the wards to heal the curse, and is on his feet, wards strong once again, in seconds. 

Sam and Eileen run to the crater the black smoke created, and as Castiel peers over, he sees a demon with flaming red hair on her hands and knees spitting blood. Castiel hears Dean counting down from 30. 

“So,” the demon says, moving to a stand and climbing slowly out of the pit. “Here we have the famous Castiel, and his  _ pet. _ ”

Dean growls.  _ 25...24… _

“Who are you, and what do you want?” Castiel snarls, stepping closer to the demon as she wipes blood from her lips and grins.

“Oh, noone, really…” she pouts, inspecting her fingernails. Sam and Eileen move in too. Castiel’s wards are back at full power- he can feel their thrum. “Just a  _ knight of hell _ come to get her revenge.”

_ 18...17… _

Castiel is confused, but doesn’t show it. Doesn’t even blink. 

But she  _ knows _ .

“Thought you killed all of us, did you, Castiel, darling? Oh, no- you forgot about  _ me _ .”

“It doesn’t matter,” Castiel says, taking position and never unlocking his gaze from hers. “You’ll go the same way.”

_ 7...6… _

“Ooh hoo! Cocky, now, aren’t we? Well,” she says, snapping her fingers to put her hair in a ponytail, then raising them to the same ready stance as Castiel, “Underestimating Abbadon is your last mistake.”

_ Now! _

Sam hurls streams of fire at Abbadon at the same time Eileen makes thousands of shards of ice fly her way from the pond, and Castiel bellows out a killing curse. Abbadon deflects all but the fire, which she immediately puts out with a snap of her fingers.

“That all ya got?” she says flirtatiously, turning her head to take them all in.

Sam and Eileen send more flames and wind and vines her way, but she ignores them in favor of Castiel. Despite being weakened from the curse she had placed on him only minutes before, Castiel knows he can’t stop. He throws killing curse after killing curse her way to no avail. Backing up, Castiel nearly stumbles, but catches himself. He is distracted long enough for one of Abbadon’s hexes to hit his shoulder and make a deep gash. 

Castiel hisses through his teeth and sends another curse. And another. She deflects them all, with a smile playing on her lips as she continues to stalk towards him. “You poor,  _ weak _ thing,” she croons, clicking her tongue.

Sam manages to set her hair on fire and she yells in frustration, turning to him and Eileen. Castiel manages to get a hex in, creating a gash in her neck, but not before she twists Sam and Eileen up in vines, tying their hands to their sides- useless. 

“I’ll deal with  _ you _ later,” she growls as she puts out the fire. “Now, Castiel,” she starts, but Castiel sends another hex and smirks when it hits just right- leaving her with a pair of bleeding holes for eyes. He has to cover his ears as she screams and falls to her knees. 

Castiel acts quickly, binding her with enchanted vines as fast as he can, but she fights blindly and manages to get in one last spell, something vicious that knocks Castiel to the ground. He thinks he’s done for, bleeding heavily from his right shoulder and now a deep pain in his chest, but he looks up at Abbadon fighting the vines to see a small shape appear behind her. 

Then there’s a scream as Dean cuts off Abbadon’s head with the enchanted knife.

And then it is black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ooooh, a cliffhanger! Don't worry, I promise this will have a happy ending. You just have to *get there*. I hope y'all enjoyed this chapter! I didn't intend to have Abbadon make an appearance, but then she *did* so now we're here! Don't you just love it when the characters take the wheel? Thank you all for all the lovely comments, and again, thank you for reading! :)


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Castiel gets some much needed rest (and cuddles) after that night's events.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy some much needed fluff!! Thank you for sticking around!

**Rest and recovery:** Castiel wakes up slowly a few hours later. The first thing he notices is that he is, in fact,  _ alive _ , because he can feel his heartbeat. Then the pain hits again, but not nearly as hard- sort of...muffled? Fading? He isn’t sure. And then he registers a weight on his chest, right over his heart…

“Dean…” Castiel rasps, his throat dry. 

Dean is alert immediately, eyes scanning Castiel’s face.  _ Thank the gods,  _ Dean says, pressing his forehead to Castiel’s. 

“Dean, what happened? Abbadon, the ritual- did you finish the ritual?”

_ Woah, hey, take it easy, Cas; everything’s okay _ , Dean says after Castiel tries and fails to raise to his elbows. 

“I saw- I saw you attack Abbadon. You...got her?”

Dean grins.  _ Sure as hell, I did! Sliced that son-of-a-bitch’s head off in one go! _

Castiel smiles fondly at Dean. “Looks like underestimating  _ you  _ was  _ her _ last mistake.”

_ Damn right! _ Dean says with a chirrup.  _ Oh, and we did finish the trials. When Sammy got the bone out it kinda...glowed? So I’m pretty sure  _ that _ worked. And then when I set the lamb on fire, the smoke turned blue, so I’m thinkin’ that’s a metaphorical green light. _

“Good.” Castiel finally lets himself relax fully back into the pillow and half-closes his eyes. “What happened to me?”

Dean lets out a breath.  _ Well, Abbadon tried to freeze your heart, all Elsa and Anna style.  _

Castiel tilts his head. “I don’t understand that reference.”

_ C’mon, Cas- Disney! It’s a classic! _

“Hardly, to me; I was around before filmography was  _ invented _ .”

Dean rolls his eyes.  _ Fine, smart-ass. _

At that, Castiel uses all his energy to lift his arms and pull Dean to him in a tight hug. “Can you breathe?” he asks after a moment.

_ Barely.  _

“Mmm. Too bad. You’re mine now.”

_ Always, Angel. Always. _

**

Dean, Sam, and Eileen have to all but force Castiel to rest for the next day. He doesn’t stop arguing it though.

“I once fought demons for two weeks straight, without rest, without a break, and I was  _ fine _ . I am able to  _ walk  _ now.”

_ That was over 200 years ago, and you weren’t using a significant part of your magic to maintain literally  _ hundreds  _ of wards,  _ and _ they weren’t fucking  _ knights of hell _. So no, I will  _ not _ get off your chest. _ Dean kneads his paws into Castiel’s shirt and flops down just to accentuate his point. And, Castiel knows, to be dramatic. Because his husband is Like That.

Sighing, Castiel runs a hand through his hair and lays his head back on the pillow, again. While he  _ is _ annoyed, he does find it endearing that Dean- and Sam and Eileen- care enough about his well being to make him rest. He had never had that before Dean came into his life. 

Castiel tries not to think about the implications of Abbadon coming the night before; tries not to think about the fact that it almost certainly means Cain  _ knows _ what they are doing, and that he will probably send more demons their way. He  _ tries _ not to think about it. But he still can’t help the occasional anxiety from worming its way in. 

His wards held back Abbadon for as long as he’d let them-  _ but, _ her spell had gotten through. And, though he is now almost  _ entirely  _ positive all the Knights are gone, he  _ had _ been certain before he met Abbadon- and then he  _ met Abbadon. _ What if-

_ Cas, I swear to Mihos if you are brooding for one more second I’ll- _

Castiel cuts Dean off with another hug. “I know, I know. I don’t want to be in the position of wrath on behalf of the Mighty Dean Winchester, Demon Slayer and God Manipulator.”

_ Hey, I did what I had to. And I’ll  _ do _ what I have to if you keep brooding! _

“I know, love. I know,” Castiel says with a kiss to the tip of Dean’s nose. Just enjoy this, Castiel thinks. Enjoy this moment, and think later. 

And he does.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Get ready, because the next few chapters will be A Lot emotionally--but don't worry, the ending will be well worth it!


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just another fluffy chapter before I break your hearts :) enjoy! 
> 
> (but I *promise* this has a good ending--keep that in mind!!

**Breakfast time:** While Castiel spent the day in bed, he wasn’t idle. He wrote a letter to his brother, Gabriel, and his Witch, Rowena, as well as Dean’s friend, Charlie, and her Familiar, Dorothy, explaining the situation and asking for their help. He hated bringing anyone else into this, but it was a necessary evil. When he was done, Castiel sealed the letters with magic, spelled them transparent, and sent them on their way through a window. 

That was yesterday, which means the letters should have arrived by now. Castiel lies in the early morning light, Dean still on his chest, asleep. Castiel knows they have precious little time before they will have to face Cain, and while he hates having spent much of that time in what he views as a wasteful way, he begrudgingly admits it  _ was _ probably for the better. Sam and Eileen needed rest too, after expending so much of their magic attacking Abbadon. 

_ Abbadon _ . She was a warning, Castiel realizes, and maybe, hopefully, a last ditch effort on Cain’s part to get rid of the threat. Cain would be as old as time by now, and hopefully weaker for it. Maybe he’s  _ scared _ . 

But, he thinks, why would someone as powerful as Abbadon follow Cain’s orders? Why would any demon, were he weak? Is that why it took over 200 years for Cain to respond? For him to lash out? Because he was weak and couldn’t find any demons willing to follow him?

Hopefully. Or, Castiel muses, he could have spent all this time  _ gaining _ power, and followers, and maybe even making more demons...

Castiel runs a hand over his face and sighs heavily, his breath causing Dean’s whiskers to twitch. Looking to his right at the clock, Castiel sees it is only five in the morning. Early, but not too early to get up- especially considering the circumstances. 

“Dean…” he says softly, stroking down his husband’s curved back. 

_ Hmmph. _

“Quite an intelligible response, my love.”

_ ‘S early, Cas. I don’t have to be coherent. _ He snuggles deeper into Castiel, putting his paw over his face.  _ And you’re comf’r’ble. _

Castiel scratches between Dean’s ears. “I know, I’m sorry. Would it appease you if I made pancakes?”

Dean lowers his paw to reveal his right eye, which he then opens.  _ What  _ kind  _ of pancakes? _

“Chocolate chip and cinnamon, of course.”

Dean glares at Castiel for a moment before his stomach growls.  _ Damnit, alright. But I get to stay in bed while you make ‘em. _

“Deal.” Castiel kisses Dean’s forehead before scooping him up and standing. He then places Dean where he had been laying, and covers him with the blanket. “This alright?”

_ ‘S awesome. Thanks, Angel. _

“Anything for you, my love.”

**

Castiel is nearly done making the last stack of pancakes when Sam and Eileen walk into the room, Sam with a horrible case of bed head.

“Don’t let Dean see that,” Castiel says over his shoulder.

_ Too late, _ Dean says, winding around Castiel’s ankles before darting at Sam and flinging himself up, latching onto Sam’s leg, and climbing to his shoulder.  _ Sammy, Sammy, Sammy. If I were a bird Familiar I would’ve nested by now. _

“Get off, Jerk,” Sam grumbles, muttering a spell to tame his hair.

_ Maybe if you let Eileen cut it- _

“I’m  _ not _ cutting it, Dean. Now get- off!” 

_ Ooohh, I love it when you talk to me like that. _

“Oh, Osirus and Anubis! Castiel, control your husband!” 

Castiel can tell by the sounds behind him that Dean has dug in his claws. He chuckles and shakes his head. “He’s  _ your  _ brother, Sam.”

“Yeah, well, you  _ chose _ him; I  _ didn’t _ .”

Castiel sighs and says, “Yes, I did. And so would you. Now, who wants pancakes?” He chooses to ignore the continuing struggle behind him as he magics the four plates of pancakes to the table. Eileen joins him.

‘So,’ she signs grinning, ‘How long do you think it will last this time?’

‘Not too much longer. Watch this.’ Castiel looks over at the Winchesters, and sees that Sam somehow managed to grab Dean and is holding him above his head as Dean flails. “Dean,” Castiel says aloud, still signing for Eileen, “The pancakes are getting cold.”

Dean immediately stops moving, and in a single fluid motion, bites Sam’s wrist and leaps down from his grasp. Castiel’s breath hitches slightly, watching him fall the eight feet from above Sam’s head to the ground, but Dean lands lightly on his paws, immediately hopping up on the table and digging into his pile of miniature pancakes. Sam follows, cursing under his breath and healing his wrist.

Eileen turns to Castiel. ‘You know, sometimes I think you and I are the only mature ones.’

Castiel nods solemnly. ‘Just wait until the others get here; we’ll be outnumbered.’

‘If we’re not careful, they could take over.’

Sam huffs, and Eileen hides a smile behind her hand at his and Dean’s glares.

Castiel catches her eye and signs, ‘Don’t worry- I’ll protect you. Together we’re stronger than all six of them combined; maturity makes magic stronger.’

_ That’s an old Witch’s tale, Cas. You know that. _

Castiel smirks at Dean. “We’ll just wait and see, then.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long! I needed a break to recharge! I will (hopefully, I plan on it) get the next chapter out soon!


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dean meets God--weird, right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> slight spoiler if you haven't seen season 11!!

**The one from which it began:** Shortly after breakfast, Castiel feels his wards breach- a friendly breach, thank the gods. He arrives at the door at the same time as their guests, and opens it as Rowena is about to knock. She smiles.

“Why, hello, love! Quite a situation you’ve gotten yourself in, now isn’t it?”

Castiel nods. “Yes, it seems that way. As I said in my letter, we were hoping you could help with tha-” Castiel is cut off by a loud squawk as a large, pink cockatoo swoops past his head, wing clipping Castiel’s left ear. Castiel rolls his eyes and turns to face his brother. “Hello, Gabriel.”

Gabriel, already in human form, smiles and pulls Castiel into a tight hug. “Hey, lil bro!” Ruffling Castiel’s hair, he says, “Think you could write more than once in a decade? And maybe some time when you’re  _ not _ in mortal peril?”

Castiel sighs. “I know...I’ll try to write more often, if we make it out of this alive.”

“Ah, just what I love about you: your perpetually grim outlook on life. Oh- hey! My favorite brother-in-law!” Gabriel says, turning and stooping down to give Dean a noogie.

“So  _ he’s _ allowed to do that, but when  _ I _ do it you attack my head?” Sam says, walking over. 

He _ supplies me with catnip. _

Sam rolls his eyes, signing what Dean said to Eileen, who laughs.

“So!” Gabriel says, clapping his hands together. “Where do we begin?”

**

The group divides up: Castiel and Dean go to work on summoning God; Rowena and Gabriel stay in the house and Rowena works her specialty, tracking magic, with an extra push of help from Gabriel; and Eileen and Sam scout the inner-parameter of Castiel’s wards, keeping their eyes open for demon activity. Charlie and Dorothy arrive just as they are getting started, and join Sam and Eileen. 

Castiel mentally runs through the thousands of ways this could go wrong- how demons could swarm and overpower them; how God could not appear with their summoning, as some higher power deities tend to do; how Cain could come and slaughter them all…

Castiel shakes his head as he finishes preparing the altar: a black cloth spread over a smooth water stone with a single white dove feather on top, to be lit on fire with a holy candle. “Remember, Dean: ‘Christ has died; Christ has risen; Christ will come again,’ with emphasis on each  _ Christ _ . It’s deceivingly simple, but if you forget the emphasis-”

“I know, I know, then it could summon an archangel to smite us. Got it.” Dean pauses, then rubs against Castiel’s knee where he sits squatting before the altar. “It’ll be okay, Cas. I got this.  _ We _ got this. And-” 

“I know, no brooding.” Castiel gives Dean a tense not-totally-a-smile-smile, then sighs. “Let’s do this.”

Castiel sits and waits as Dean performs the ritual. His back is tense, and sweat runs down his temple from nerves as he watches the sky for any signs of darkening. But nothing happens. 

And nothing happens after Dean finishes the spell and lights the feather.

And nothing happens after the last of the smoke from the fire dissipates into nothingness.

Then- a low rumble of thunder, even though the sky is clear. They see a shadow forming in front of them, and when Castiel looks up, there is a small vortex of a cloud high above.

Before he can blink, lightning strikes from the cloud, splitting the water stone in half, and Castiel and Dean fly back from the force of impact. Picking himself up, Castiel sees a man standing before them- a man with a light brown beard, ratty t-shirt, and jeans.

_ God?  _ Dean asks, blinking. 

“Oh, hey Dean! And yeah, yeah, that’s me. ‘Creator of the Universe’ and all. But, we don’t gotta be so formal- call me Chuck,” the man says with a small, serene smile.

Castiel and Dean sit still for a moment, processing. The Dean speaks.

_ Um, so. Chuck. We...need a favor. _

Chuck clasps his hands together. “Ah, yes! I’ve been following your progression through the trials, and you’ve done well! But I have this question for you:  _ why  _ should  _ I  _ help?”

Castiel opens his mouth to speak, but Dean cuts through. 

_ Why should  _ you  _ help? You really have to ask? You’ve watched us do these trials, watched Cas nearly get offed, and you did nothing- _

“-now it’s not  _ my  _ job to fiddle with my creation, I-”

_ -and you sat by all those years ago when Cas ganked nearly all the demons.  _ And  _ you sat by and let Cain create them and cause all his chaos and destruction in the first place! All while you had the blade that could kill him in your pocket. _

Chuck fumes, but as he opens his mouth to speak, Dean cuts through again.

_ Now, I don’t know about you, but most gods I’ve met tend to care about their own, and about the things they create. And from what I’ve heard, Cain has screwed up a  _ lot _ of their property. Last time I checked, you were outnumbered. So,  _ Dean says, flicking his tail and glaring at Chuck,  _ I don’t think you're in a position to get in the way of us ganking that son of a bitch. _

Chuck opens his mouth, then closes it again. Then he sighs. “Dean Winchester-Novak: The Righteous Man, through and through. Well,” he says, bending over and scooping up the bone and blood they had laid out in offering beside the altar, “I suppose this is yours.” Chuck flourishes his other hand, and in it appears a blade like none Castiel had ever seen: it looks like a jaw bone, teeth and all, attached to a worn handle. 

Chuck bends down and hands the blade to Dean. “Fare thee well.”

And he is gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here *thrusts this chapter at you* have some plot, as a treat


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the battle you've all been waiting for

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is a reeeeally heavy chapter (but so much fun to write!)   
> just keep in mind THIS HAS A HAPPY ENDING I PROMISE

**The plan:** The group immediately returns to the house to prepare. “Okay,” Castiel begins, “I think a circle formation is our best bet. There are seven of us to fight-”

_ Eight, Cas. _

Castiel pinches the bridge of his nose. “Dean, if you think I’m letting you anywhere  _ near _ Cain, I-”

_ I’m  _ going _ Cas. _ Dean’s voice is steady, but firm.

“Dean-”

_ Castiel. I can help. I can stay on the outskirts, keep an eye out and keep you and Sam from having blind spots. Besides, if I stay here, you have to keep the wards up, which’ll mean you get drained faster. So, I’m  _ going _. _

Castiel looks up at the ceiling and takes a deep breath before hanging his head and releasing it. “Fine. Okay. Sure.” Castiel turns to the others, ignoring Dean. “So, like I said: seven of us fighting, Dean skirting the perimeter to keep watch,” he says and signs.

Charlie raises her hand, and Castiel nods in her direction. “Okay, yeah, so, I’ve been practicing a cloaking spell, totally  _ not _ for LARPING purposes, but, yeah.” She clears her throat. “I think I can manage to conceal us from Cain, so we can have an advantage, sneak up on him?”

“That sounds lovely, dear!” Rowena says. “From my tracking spell, I found that Cain is alone, in a small house in Missouri. I sensed no other demon presence in a 200 mile perimeter.”

“Good, that’s good.” Castiel nods. “What else do we have?”

Eileen waves. ‘I brushed up on the lore, and I found a... _ theory _ . Some people- well,  _ several _ people, seem to think that killing Cain will destroy the rest of the demons on earth, and hell, too.’

The room falls silent for a few moments at that information. Castiel berates himself in the back of his mind for leaving any demons behind in the first place, but snaps back to the present when Dorothy talks.

“Well, we have to be prepared for that to not work- and for angry demons to come after us. We don’t really know anything about the situation we’re going into, so we need to be prepared for anything.”

“Exactly,” Castiel says. Cain could be weak- he could be at his peak; he could have no demons- he could have them  _ all _ . One thing we know for sure: he will be dead by the time this is over. I will make sure of that myself.”

**The battle:** After another hour of strategy talk and charging up on magic, they gather in a group as Charlie performs her cloaking spell. Dorothy boosts her magic by holding her hand and pushing it through their bond. Then, as a tight bundle, they teleport as one to the coordinates in Missouri. 

Castiel opens his eyes as wind hits his face to see a small house with a little porch and a bee farm. He looks to Rowena in confusion, wondering if this is the right place; Rowena just nods. Castiel looks around them, sending out tendrils of his magic to check for any threats. When he knows there are none, he gives the signal, and the rest split off to encircle the house.

Castiel looks down at Dean in his arms, waiting patiently for Castiel to let him down. “Dean, I-” Castiel doesn’t know what to say. He knows they may very well all be killed in the next hour, in the next  _ minutes _ , and there are so many things he wants to say, to do...but he feels Dean’s annoyance at him from earlier filtering through their bond, feels his walls up, so he doesn’t say what he wants to. 

“Be safe, Dean.” And he lets Dean jump down and trot over to the forest surrounding the house. 

Castiel shakes his head. Now is  _ not _ the time to be distracted. Now is the time to go back into his old norm, his warrior mindset. He is the only one here, besides Gabriel, to have any real battle experience, though Dean, Sam, and Eileen have all hunted before. Charlie and Dorothy live as Non-Magics mostly, leading a tech-savvy life-style that Castiel could never imagine. They are both extremely powerful Magics, though, and more trustworthy than Castiel’s old coven, who don’t like deserters…

Castiel creeps over and into position. They send a series of nods around their circle, and when it reaches back to Castiel he says, “Now.”

And they attack. Each of them send a stream of fire towards the house, effectively setting it ablaze. Moments later, Cain appears on the lawn, screaming in rage. He looks around, apparently not seeing them, so they close in, as planned. Castiel can feel Cain’s power tickling at his own, as Cain tries to sense where they are. But it’s no use against Charlie’s spell.

When they are all in position around the stock still Cain, Castiel nods again. They all send various curses Cain’s way and he falls to his knees with several gashes and a broken arm. Cain lashes out with his power and a warmth trickles down from Castiel’s head to his toes. 

And Cain meets his eyes.

“Now I can see you,” he grunts. They all send another wave of spells, but Cain manages to block a few this time, sending back one of his own. Castiel hears a few cries as his friends get hurt, but he can’t look away from Cain’s gaze. 

He shoots a killing curse, though he knows it won’t do any good. Cain deflects it, but only just, and he exhales sharply as it hits him. The others take the opportunity to send another wave of spells, and another. Cain shoots back killing curses towards all but Castiel. 

Castiel doesn’t look when he hears a cry of pain. He sends another killing curse towards Cain, and Cain sends it back to Castiel, who dodges it easily. He parries with the spell he’d used on Abbadon to cut out her eyes, but Cain deflects it. He deflects most of the constant curses being thrown at him, and shoots some back towards their senders. 

Castiel doesn’t look when he feels blood spatter on his arm. He just sends back another killing curse, and those still standing close in tighter, as planned. A wave of fire washes over Cain, but he only laughs. “Oh, that  _ tickles _ .” 

He puts it out with a snap of his fingers.

And signs something that Castiel doesn’t recognize while chanting in a long forgotten language. 

Pain wracks Castiel’s body, and he can tell from the cries that he isn’t alone. 

_ Cas _ , Dean’s voice enters his mind.  _ He’s getting weaker. You got this. _

And indeed, Castiel can feel the pain already starting to subside, only a bit, but the edge is off. He sends a quick spell and puts a gash in Cain’s good arm. 

Cain responds with a wave of water that picks Castiel up and surrounds him. Castiel strains to hold his breath while the others shoot spells at Cain. Pain spreads through Catiel’s lungs; his heart is beating harder than it ever has; his vision starts to go blotchy…

And then he can breathe- until he lands hard on his knees and a pain shoots up his left leg as his kneecap shatters. He screams. 

Castiel steels himself. He can’t stop now. Cain is focused on the others, thinking Castiel is no longer a threat. Castiel takes the moment to pull the Blade out of his pocket. He steadies himself, and slowly, agonizingly, rizes as silently as he can. And lunges at Cain’s back.

He is met with the full force of a brick wall- an invisible brick wall, inches from Cain. He feels blood running freely from his broken nose, but doesn’t waste magic trying to mend it. Instead, he gets back to his feet and sends a spiral of vines to wrap around Cain’s ankles. They get to his mid thigh before Cain seems to notice and pauses in his rapid fire of spells. 

He turns to look at Castiel, sweat pouring off him.

Castiel takes out Cain’s right eye. 

Cain yells and holds his eye, but the screams soon turn to laughter. “Oh, you all are giving a good fight. An easy one, but a  _ good  _ one nonetheless.” He moves his hand, and the bleeding has stopped, an empty socket in its place. “Too bad it’ll soon be over.”

Cain yells again and raises his hands before bringing them down and slamming them on the ground. Then, he rises up, up, up, on a dirt tornado of his own making. “You wanna play?” He raises his hands. “Let’s play.” He shoots strikes of lighting down towards them all. Castiel manages to dodge it, but he knows someone wasn’t so lucky. 

The remaining send more spells Cain’s way, and while Cain continues to deflect, Castiel notices he is  _ mainly _ deflecting, which takes less magic than an actual spell. Dean was right. 

Suddenly, a small pink shape squawks and flies up towards Cain. Screaming profanities and and moving rapidly, Gabriel scratches at Cain’s head and sends spells close range. He manages to take out Cain’s other eye before Cain swipes his hand and knocks Gabriel out of the air with a spell. Castiel hears the thud and crack as he lands from the 30 foot fall, hears Rowena’s heart-wrenching scream. 

But he doesn’t look. 

Castiel mimics Cain’s previous movements and soon rises up on his own miniature tornado. He uses as much power as he can summon to make it spiral faster, to make it grow taller, then rise up and crash down on Cain.

He hears Cain’s now-familiar yell, then Rowena’s voice as she casts spell after spell at Cain. Castiel lands on his good leg to see Cain sprawled on the ground, subject to the brunt of Rowena and Charlie’s spells. The others are nowhere to be seen. 

Castiel doesn’t look for them. Instead, he uses his draining energy to quickly wrap Cain’s ankles and hands in vines, but Cain thrashes and breaks free, sending silent spells that knock both women back onto the ground. 

“Just you and me now, Demon Slayer,” Cain snarls, struggling to his feet. “You know,” he huffs, as he listens for Castiel to try and locate him, “the great thing is, I didn’t have to kill them. Not one. All I wanted was you. And now,” he says, facing Castiel full on, “I get you.” Cain and Castiel send killing curse after killing curse, both dodging some, Castiel more than Cain. He can feel him weakening, knows he almost has him, knows his friends lives won’t have been taken in vain…

Then Cain hits him with... _ something _ . Something that feels  _ wrong _ and sucks at Castiel’s magic and breath at the same time. He falls back with a thud, the blade landing a few feet to his right, and struggles to get back up as Cain walks towards him- but he’s frozen in place.

_ No! _ Dean yells. Castiel sees a small shape dart across his peripheral vision on the right. Then he sees Dean fly through the air towards Cain, Blade in his mouth, aiming for his heart. Castiel prays for a direct hit-

But Cain reaches out a hand lighting fast and grabs Dean by the neck, and smirks. “Unfinished business…” Castiel watches in horror as Cain chants, uses some unfamiliar sign language, then one he knows well:  _ cat _ . Dean hisses and struggles, calling out to Castiel in their bond, terror pulsing from him. Cain says one last word then holds his free palm out. A golden glow washes over Dean, like when he’s about to transform, and then he goes limp.

Cain tosses him to the side, and Castiel hears a dull thud as he hits the ground.

Castiel wants to look. He  _ needs  _ to. 

But he can’t.

Because he has to kill Cain.

Castiel doesn’t think. He doesn’t know how he breaks out of whatever curse Cain had put on him. He doesn’t know anything but heartbreak and rage. He doesn’t think how he can’t feel Dean’s end of the bond, the bond that, even with walls up, was always strong and present and warm for the past two decades...he just acts. 

He doesn’t feel the strain on his magic. He doesn’t feel the strain on his broken heart. First he builds up a pile of rocks and crashes them down on Cain. Then he makes a water vortex that swallows him, but doesn’t let him out. He hits him with lightning, and sends an army of Cain’s bees to attack him. 

Finally, when he knows Cain is broken beyond repair, he lifts the vortex 50 feet in the air and lets Cain fall hard to the ground, bent and broken and bloody. Castiel wraps him in vines from head to toe, leaving one small opening over Cain’s chest. Then, he walks over to him, leans in close, and says in a broken whisper: “Now; now, it’s over.” 

And plunges the blade through Cain’s heart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hate to do it to ya, but *shrugs*  
> (it only goes up from here, don't worry!)


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> something is very, very wrong...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for this chapter being so short, I will try to post more soon!!

**The realization:** Cain jolts as the blade pierces him, and light flashes through his nervous system as he seizes. Castiel holds the blade steady as blood covers his hands. He keeps his gaze locked on his hands as he sees the sky darkening above him. He knows the demons are coming- the ones that are left, the ones that  _ shouldn’t _ be left, if not for Castiel’s carelessness. He knows they will end him. He knows he hasn’t got enough power left in him to fend them off, and he knows he doesn’t have enough will in him to go on after losing his brother, his friends; after losing  _ Dean… _

He looks up when he hears a sound like a vacuum. And he sees the demon smoke plummeting into a hole in the ground several feet away. Wind lashes at his face and he has to shield his eyes and nose to keep dirt out as it is kicked up by the spiraling smoke. As suddenly as it began, the sound diminishes, and Castiel feels a tug on the blade. Looking down, he sees that Cain’s body is being pulled into the vacuum, and he moves to let it go, blade and all. 

Then it is over.

And Castiel buckles inward, lets himself feel the pain of his injuries, the pain of his loss, and he cries like he never has before. His shattered knee screams under his weight, but he doesn’t care. Nothing matters anymore, and nothing can ever matter again, because Castiel has truly lost  _ everything _ .

He almost doesn’t hear the movement, and when he does, he thinks he imagined it. But then he hears Dorothy calling his name.

“ _ Cas, Castiel...” _

He jerks his head up and looks around. He sees Dorothy, Charlie, Rowena, Gabriel, Eileen, and Sam all there, all bent in the wrong ways and covered in bleeding cuts, but  _ there _ nonetheless, and  _ breathing _ . They are  _ alive _ .

“How-” Castiel begins, but realizes that with Cain’s weakened state, he couldn’t power a fatal blow. Sure, he could cause severe damage, and his friends need magical medical attention as soon as possible, but it also means…

“ _ Dean!”  _

Castiel pushes to his feet and staggers over to where Dean lies, left front leg bent at an odd angle. Castiel sinks down beside his husband, places a hand on his side to search for damage. The Bond is still gone, but Castiel shakes away that worry for now. After a thorough search with his magic, Castiel is satisfied that the only injury is to Dean’s leg, and he breathes a sigh of relief.

“Dean…” Castiel hears more movement around him, groans and teeth-hisses, but nothing to suggest anyone is mortally injured. Right now, he has to take care of- “Dean, can you hear me?” Castiel strokes Dean from head to tail, sending tendrils of magic through his touch to start the healing process on his leg.

Dean opens his eyes and blinks a few times.

“Thank the gods,” Castiel says and carefully scoops Dean into his arms, avoiding touching his broken leg and buries his face into his fur.

Until Dean hisses and squirms and worms out of Castiel’s grasp. 

“Dean? What…”

Dean tries to put weight on his broken leg as he hurries away from Castiel before seeming to realize that it isn’t a good idea, then continues to hobble awkwardly on three legs until he reaches the tree line.

“ _ Dean _ ?”

“Cas, what’s going on?” Sam calls, but Castiel ignores him.

Dean turns to face Castiel, pupils dilated, tail puffed, much like when they would play fight, but so, so different at the same time, because this time Dean…

Dean is  _ scared _ .

Dean doesn’t recognize Castiel.

Dean sees Castiel as a  _ threat _ .

Because all of those little clues now add up: how Castiel felt something gnawing at his mind when Dean had said  _ this is a part of who I am, it always has been _ ; how he knew there was  _ more _ to the ‘cat’ sign the demon had used…

Dean is no longer  _ Dean _ .

Dean is gone.

And only a cat remains.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> did you see it coming?


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Castiel is reckless, everyone else worries, and dean...is a cat

**Soul Searching:** Castiel just stands there. He stands there looking at Dean- at what  _ was _ Dean; at what isn’t Dean anymore. He doesn’t even blink. He can’t breathe. He can’t think. 

“ _ Castiel, Cas, hey…” _ Sam says from somewhere far away as he shakes Castiel’s shoulder. “ _ What’s going on? I’m trying to talk to Dean and he’s, I mean- it’s  _ weird _ , it feels... _ wrong _. Like something’s missing. Cas, what’s going on?” _

“He’s gone.” Castiel says it, but it gets caught in his throat, and his mind can’t wrap around it. He notes sounds of confusion. He sees Charlie go over to Dean- the cat- and sees him back away, hackles raised. 

Castiel sees it, hears it, feels it, but it can’t be real. It can’t be. Just that morning, just hours ago, Dean had been asleep on his chest, and he’d watched him breathe, counting his stripes and losing count and thinking how he used to do that with his freckles. Just that morning Dean had been here, he’d been  _ himself _ . Just that morning…

But this is now. And Dean is gone. 

And Castiel is going to try to bring him back, even if he dies trying.

He shakes his head, even though it hurts; even though his entire body is wracked with pain, even though his magic is depleted more than it has been in 200 years, he knows what he has to do.

“I’m going to Soul Search,” he says, clearly this time, and it cuts through the silence. 

There are several gasps. 

“But that’s a suicide mission!” Dorothy says. 

Rowena cuts in. “Even a Magic at full power can barely withstand it, and you’re-”

“I  _ know,” _ Castiel says, holding his palms downward to try and siphon some magic from the foliage, never taking his eyes off Not-Dean. “But I have to try.”

Before anyone can argue, Castiel takes a few slow and deliberate steps toward Not-Dean before shakily sinking to the ground. The others stand behind him in a semicircle, waiting.

“Dean…” Castiel calls softly. “It’s alright. I’m here.” He holds out a palm, and Not-Dean looks at it suspiciously. He takes a step forward. “That’s right, it’s okay. It’s me, Castiel. I’m going to take care of you.” He had partially hoped for a flicker of recognition at his name, or a glint in Dean’s eye, or  _ something _ to prove that he was still somewhat there. But no- this is now. Just this moment. 

Dean takes another step, limping a little less than he had earlier. 

“I see your leg is doing better. That’s good. I’m going to try and make  _ everything  _ better. Just come here, and it will all be okay.”

Castiel continues coaxing Not-Dean to him for another ten minutes, until the cat is inches away from his fingers. Castiel waits, silent, holding his breath. He closes his eyes.

Seconds drag like years. His lungs protest, and his heart pounds, but finally,  _ finally _ , a wet nose pokes his ring finger, then fur rubs under his palm.

Castiel opens his eyes and breathes. He scratches between the cat’s ears, strokes him from head to tail, and the cat leans into his touch. Castiel scratches under Not-Dean’s chin, and a smile tilts up a corner of his lips when he hears a strong purr.

“Will you let me hold you now?” he murmurs, slowly reaching his other hand forward and moving carefully to grab him- and, surprisingly, the cat allows it. Castiel nearly cries in relief.

“Okay,” he says with Not-Dean now on his lap, “I’m going to do something now, something dangerous, and reckless, something like you would do. And I need you to know- I need you to know that- that I love you more than anything, more than anyone has ever loved anyone. And-” he clears his throat. “I am going to do my best to get us out of this alive.”

Castiel places his right hand on the cat’s head, and the other in front of his heart. He closes his eyes, and starts chanting the spell he’d only ever read about in one book, a book he’d long since forgotten the name and place of. He’d memorized the spell during his phase of memorizing every text he came across, a habit he had long since given up. 

His palms get warmer, and he opens one eye as Not-Dean jolts when they start to glow. He holds him tighter, like a lifeline. He knows he’s scared. Gods,  _ Castiel _ is scared. This really is a suicide mission. He can already feel his magic waning. They could very well both be dead very, very soon. 

But this is now. Just right now.

And with that thought, Castiel’s soul pours through his hands and into Deans, and everything goes black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the short chapter, I just didn't want to leave y'all hanging any longer!


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Castiel does some soul searching

**Hell:** Castiel feels his magic, his awareness, his  _ essence _ contract inwards; feels it condense and warm and then  _ fly _ . He is conscious, but not really. He is alive, but only just. All he really knows is it is warm, it is fast, and everything and nothing is a soft golden glow.

It lasts for minutes, or maybe centuries. But then, all at once, Castiel is jolted to awareness in a very foreign, very dark place. He can feel that he has substance, and he can see his body, but it feels...less than usual. Looking around, Castiel can see slight movements of shadows within shadows. A crack of lightning startles Castiel, but what unsettles him more is that whatever made the dozens of shadows before are no longer there.

He picks a direction and begins walking. “Steering South never turned a Witch wrong,” Castiel mumbles to himself, and can imagine Dean scolding him, again, for believing in Old Witch’s Tales. But he has nothing else to go on. 

As Castiel moves deeper in, he can hear the edges of whispers. He trips a few times, and runs into a few Somethings before he hears a faint, deep, guttural yell. The hairs on the back of his neck spike up and a chill runs down his spine. It was  _ Dean. _

Castil begins to run in the general direction of the noise. He feels things like cold fingers or seaweed grasping at him as he gets closer, and can feel his magic dwindling to its last threads. He is  _ so close _ . He can feel it. He can feel  _ Dean _ . Not like with their bond, but just his general presence. He has to keep going. 

After running blindly for what feels like hours, another flash of lighting reveals a shape just at the edge of Castiel’s vision. He bolts towards what he knows as Dean when he screams again, in agony. Castiel rushes to Dean’s side, feeling blindly in the dark and calling out his name. His hand meets something material, something familiar- Dean’s arm. But something is wrong. His arm shouldn’t feel this way. 

A lighting strike reveals Dean- Dean covered in gashes and cuts and bruises, bleeding everywhere, eyes bloodshot and wild, chained to a table. He doesn’t seem to register Castiel.

It does dark again and Castiel closes his eyes, takes a deep breath, then lets it out. It’s okay, he thinks. All he has to do is get Dean out. Grab him, and get out. Opening his eyes he sways on the spot. His magic depletion is taking a toll on him physically- not a good sign. He has to hurry.

Castiel fumbles in the dark and finds the chains binding Dean’s wrist. “I’m getting you out, love. It will be okay. I’m here,” he says as he works, trying to unbind him without magic- but it’s useless. He sways again, then shakes his head. He has no other choice. Castiel mumbles the spell under his breath, and he hears all four sets of chains clatter to the ground. 

He sees spots.

He grabs onto the table and breathes deeply for a few moments, and can hear Dean muttering faint, jumbled words. 

“. _..please...no...stop...anything...I’ll...do...do anything...please… _ ”

Castiel raises a shaking hand to stroke Dean’s cheek, and doesn’t flinch when his hand meets blood. “I’m here, Dean. I’m getting you out.” 

Castiel thinks he imagines it, but he could swear that he feels Dean relax ever so slightly under his touch. 

He resists sending healing magic his way, and instead lifts Dean into a sitting position. He presses his chest to Dean’s back, and holds him around his torso, right hand with a firm grasp on Dean’s left bicep. 

And then the shadows come to life. Castiel doesn’t think. He summons a long, silver blade with magic and ignores how weak he feels. He slices at the faceless shapes with one hand and holds onto Dean with the other, muttering the spell to get them out of there. 

Minutes pass, and Castiel worries he is too depleted to cast the spell, and that they will be stuck in this hell forever. But then there’s a hitch below his navel, and he feels that tugging inward of his magic. He feels the warmth, the shrinking, the glow…

And then they are flying.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> see??? things are starting to get better, right???


	18. Chapter 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What happened after the Soul Searching? Is everyone healed? is Dean...well, Dean? Read more to find out. :)

**Always:** Castiel drifts through dreams for an endless amount of time, sometimes nightmares, sometimes nice images of Dean running his fingers through Castiel’s hair, smiling at him like he is everything he ever wanted and more; and, sometimes, he is just in the dark, blank expanse of Nothing. 

Slowly, slowly, he starts to realize that some of the things aren’t dreams: the smell of coffee; the sound of rain; and…

“Dean…” Castiel murmurs, reaching a heavy arm to touch where he  _ knows _ he felt the brush of fingertips on his cheek. He blinks a few times, rubbing the crust out of his eyes. He is in his bed. He hears voices in the house, so the others must be here. It is then he notes he is no longer in pain. He touches his nose gently, and can tell it is no longer broken, and the blood is gone. He bends his leg; his knee isn’t shattered. 

Someone- or some _ ones- _ healed him. That process can take weeks, so he knows he must have been in a coma of some sort for a while.

Then, he feels it. A trickle of joy that isn’t his own.  _ The bond. _

Castiel makes to get out of bed, but is immediately overcome by nausea and dizziness. Okay, he thinks, not  _ fully _ healed, but good enough. He lays gently back in bed, and sends a pulse through the bond of affection, letting Dean know he is awake. He waits then, expecting to hear claws skidding across the floor, but instead hears footsteps. Maybe someone is carrying Dean? Is he still injured?

A figure appears in the doorway holding a steaming cup of coffee, a man with a worn Led Zeppelin shirt and a blue flannel, freckles, and the greenest eyes known to man and gods alike.

“Mornin’ Sunshine,” Dean says, and Castiel can’t help the tears that spring to his eyes. 

“Hello, Dean,” he manages to say before Dean speeds across the room and presses his lips over Castiel’s, cradling his cheek in his free hand. 

“Don’t ever do that again,” they say at the same time as they part, then laugh.

“I thought  _ I _ was supposed to be the reckless one?” Dean says, arching an eyebrow. 

Castiel just smiles. He can’t  _ stop _ smiling. He has Dean. He has  _ all _ of Dean. And they are both  _ alive _ .

“Here…” Dean says, moving around to his side of the bed, setting down his coffee, and crawling under the covers next to Castiel. They move so they are on their sides, facing each other, so close their noses press together. 

Castiel can’t stop looking at Dean, taking him in. 

“Is this a dream?” he whispers.

Dean chuckles. “I’m afraid not, Angel. They don’t make me this good in La La Land.”

“They really don’t.”

“I’m one of a kind.”

“You truly are,” Castiel says, rubbing his finger over Dean’s lips before kissing him again. And again. And again. 

“Oh, hey, check this out,” Dean says after a while. He sits up and pulls off his flannel, then rolls up the sleeve of his t-shirt to reveal a raised handprint on his left bicep.

“What…” Castiel starts, squinting at the mark. “ _ Oh. _ ” He remembers now. Pulling a soul out of a curse can leave a mark, a mark like he had left on Dean.

“Yeah, ‘s pretty cool,” Dean says with a genuine grin as he lays back down and scoots back over to Castiel, pulling him close. “Like I got a piece of you wherever I go, even when I’m not with you.”

“I’m never going anywhere ever again.”

“Fine by me,” Dean says, finding Castiel’s hand under the blankets and squeezing it. “Thank you, Castiel,” he says gently. “Thank you, for never giving up, for never giving up on  _ me _ .”

“Of course,” Castiel says, pressing their foreheads together and wrapping Dean in a hug. “You don’t have to thank me for that. I love you. More and more each day.”

They lay like that for a long while, just reveling in the closeness they never thought they would have again, when Dean pulls back and says, “Hey, Cas?”

“Yes?”

“Wanna get married again?” Dean says with a goofy grin.

“What?”

“Like, renew our vows or some shit. I don’t know, like the Non-Magics do.”

“It hasn’t even been two decades yet!” Castiel argues, but he’s smiling too.

“Well, we could make it a Thing. Like, every 20 years, or somethin’.  _ C'mon  _ Cas, it’ll be fun!”

Castiel pretends to think for several seconds before giving in. “Of course, Dean, whatever you want.”

“Awesome,” he says, snuggling close, Castiel’s head under his chin. 

“Dean?”

“Yes?”

“I love you.”

Castiel can feel Dean kiss his head. “I love you, too.”

“Forever?”

Dean pulls Castiel tight into his arms. “Always, Angel, always.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Annnnnd that's that! Thank you, everyone, for reading this, and thank you all for the comments, they mean so so much to me!! I'm grateful to all of you, you really made writing this so much more fun. (Let me know if y'all want time-stamps later on! I am more than willing to revisit this story.) :) <3


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